Posted on 10/23/2007 5:26:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin
NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast Corp. on Tuesday acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet traffic, but said any roadblocks it puts up are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users. The statement was a response to an Associated Press report last week that detailed how the nation's largest cable company was interfering with file sharing by some of its Internet subscribers. The AP also found that Comcast's computers masqueraded as those of its users to interrupt file-sharing connections.
Internet watchdog groups denounced Comcast's actions, calling it an example of the kind of abuse that could be curbed with so-called "Net Neutrality" legislation. It would require Internet providers to treat all traffic equally -- as has largely been the case historically.
Comcast has repeatedly denied blocking any Internet application, including "peer-to-peer" file-sharing programs like BitTorrent, which the AP used in its nationwide tests.
On Tuesday, Mitch Bowling, senior vice president of Comcast Online Services, added a nuance to that statement, saying that while Comcast may block initial connection attempts between two computers, it eventually lets the traffic through if the computers keep trying.
"During periods of heavy peer-to-peer congestion, which can degrade the experience for all customers, we use several network management technologies that, when necessary, enable us to delay -- not block -- some peer-to-peer traffic. However, the peer-to-peer transaction will eventually be completed as requested," Bowling said.
The explanation is not inconsistent with the AP's tests. In one case, a BitTorrent file transfer was squelched, apparently by messages generated by Comcast, only to start 10 minutes later. Other tests were called off after around 5 minutes, while the transfers were still stifled.
Comcast's statement did not mollify Markham Erickson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Open Internet Coalition, a group that counts Google Inc. and eBay Inc. among its supporters.
"What applications work, what don't, and at what speeds? Only Comcast really knows," he said. "Comcast is making arbitrary bandwidth allocation decisions slowing use of basic (programs) without being clear to consumers what they really get when they buy a broadband connection."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation confirmed the AP's findings with its own tests -- including spotting forged messages sent by Comcast's computers to shut down connections.
While BitTorrent connections may eventually resume after being shut down by Comcast, other file-sharing programs like Gnutella may be more severely affected by the interference, preventing any kind of upload, said Peter Eckersley, staff technologist at the online civil liberties group.
"Characterizing that as delaying traffic I think is ... a stretch. What they are doing is spoofing traffic or jamming traffic," Eckersley said.
"I think they are trying to create as much confusion about this story as they can because they've done something really scurrilous and out of line for an ISP, and I'm sure they've been burned by the community's reaction to it," he added.
Applications like BitTorrent and Gnutella are often used to illegally share copyrighted files, giving the applications themselves an image of shadiness. Recently, however, several companies have started using BitTorrent to distribute legal files.
However, users also reported Comcast blocking some transfers of e-mails with large attachments through an application that is fully in the legal sphere: Lotus Notes, an IBM Corp. program used in corporate settings.
Kevin Kanarski, a network engineer for a major law firm, noticed the disruption in August and eventually traced the problem to Comcast. But he got the cold shoulder from the company's customer support department.
On Tuesday, Bowling acknowledged the problem, saying it was unintentional and due to a software bug that has been fixed. Kanarski said transfers started working again last week.
"These are the kinds of software bugs you get when you have ISPs messing around with hacking techniques to get some applications running on their networks and not others," said EFF's Eckersley, who is himself a Comcast subscriber.
"The bottom line is that if ISPs start regularly engaging in conduct like this, then kids in their dorm rooms or small startup companies that are trying to develop innovative new uses of the Internet are going to have to come and get permission from players like Comcast to get their protocols working properly," Eckersley said. "That kind of veto over innovation would be very bad news."
My take is Comacast is doing this bit torrent blocking in fits and spurts in various markets. It’s a trial balloon to see how much they can get away with. How loud the sheeple will bleat in protest
A few folks have been “bit hard in court” on the “peer-to-peer” file-sharing programs. I wonder if the telecoms feel a little exposed? Our legal system has already tried gun manufacturers, etc for their products used in illegal activity.
It helps explain why my internet connection has been so slow..I’m paying for high speed broadband....that is slower than a dial up.
Some of the emails from my friends using Comcast are terribly delayed by hours. I wasn’t sure if it was my service or theirs. This tells me it’s theirs.
Hi Jim, on Sunday the link to FR was so slow I though I had a virus on my computer.
Reboot your modem? I have dsl now but when I had Comcast sometimes a modem reboot would help
They hide behind common carrier status.
If they started inspecting the content their users are transporting, then they might become liable.
If they had any sense, they would be content to bill high-volume users a high-volume price, and rake in the dough.
Thanks I’ll give it a try.
def-— unplug it from electricity for 30-60 seconds then plug it (modem) back in
I’d say you’re right. It has been my experience that Comcast, as well as all other cable internet providers I have dealt with are chocked full of incompetent ‘techs’ and this just seems to be yet another ham-fisted attempt by incompetents to ‘experiment’ on their customers. I have seen more than one bring down entire network sectors only to learn that the person responsible was some $12/hr tech with unprecedented network security access. In my part of the world, businesses avoid cable internet like the plague.
I dumped Comcrap cable internet service and got Verizon FIOS. Happy ever since.
They need to leave bittorrent alone.
Funny, when I was visiting friends of mine in Carmel, Ca., they had Comcast and it was the fastest internet connection I’ve ever used.
I run speed tests all the time when I’m on line and they were getting 20,000 to 28,29,000kbps downstream and 1300 to 1500kbps upstream.
I’m paying Chartert extra in Texas to get 5,000 kbps down and usually get around 47-4800+ kbps down and 400+ upload.
Charter is pretty flaky and not all that reliable sometimes with lots of slowdowns or disconnections right in the middle of a trade.
Do not get me started about Charter.
Is DSL considered better for businesses where you are? No downtime?
Hmmmm....I think this happened here yesterday.....weird internet cable service during the day......Hmmmmm
Everyone knows they were throttling their newsgroup downloads for years. They finally went to a real newserver service, but when it was on their hardware, people "hit the download ceiling" all the time.
Business DSL has more downtime where I am than we had when we had with TWC RR Business Class. We still accept Credit Cards (or Debit Cards with Visa Logo) while the systems are down up to 8x our average purchase amount. It (TWCRR BC) was also a lot more though. TWC has started packet shifting as well. Gaming became unplayable at times online on my personal RR connection.
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