Comcast is not only fraudulently interfering with Internet traffic, they are attempting to subvert net neutrality.
The overall issue is this: Some Internet users employ software and technology which can suck up huge amounts of bandwidth, thereby slowing down the performance for other Internet users. To complicate the issue, Comcast is fraudulently forging messages between computers to cause some high bandwidth software to fail – improving the performance for some subscribers at the expense of others without increasing capacity – which is a violation of net neutrality. As more and more people use the Internet to exchange very large files such as high resolution music, videos, and movies it will only become a bigger issue as time passes.
Net neutrality prevents Internet service providers from charging extra to some customers to give their traffic preferential treatment – for example providing faster service to transactions on Amazon.com’s shopping cart than other shopping carts – thereby allowing wealthy corporations to stifle competition.
The traffic and speed issue as described above is really only an excuse to eliminate net neutrality through the back-door.
As Internet technology improves and the underlying network continues to become faster and more robust, the cost of heavy usage will continue to drop and will eventually no longer be an issue. This is why net neutrality is so important: improved technology at lower cost will encompass heavier loads on the Internet without selling preferential access to some content providers, but if selling preferential treatment becomes the standard practice, it will subvert the Internet by turning it into a tool that wealthy corporations can use to stifle competition. GS
Associates Press: Comcast uses fraud to trick customers
By PETER SVENSSON – 2 days ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.
The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users.
…The principle of equal treatment of traffic, called "Net Neutrality" by proponents, is not enshrined in law but supported by some regulations. Most of the debate around the issue has centered on tentative plans, now postponed, by large Internet carriers to offer preferential treatment of traffic from certain content providers for a fee.
…Comcast's interference, on the other hand, appears to be an aggressive way of managing its network to keep file-sharing traffic from swallowing too much bandwidth and affecting the Internet speeds of other subscribers.
…(Comcast spokesman) Douglas would not specify what the company means by "access" — Comcast subscribers can download BitTorrent files without hindrance. Only uploads of complete files are blocked or delayed by the company, as indicated by AP tests.
But with (BitRorrent) "peer-to-peer" technology, users exchange files with each other, and one person's upload is another's download. That means Comcast's blocking of certain uploads has repercussions in the global network of file sharers.
Comcast's technology kicks in, though not consistently, when one BitTorrent user attempts to share a complete file with another user.
Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither message originated from the other computer — it comes from Comcast. If it were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other: "Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye."
Matthew Elvey, a Comcast subscriber in the San Francisco area who has noticed BitTorrent uploads being stifled, acknowledged that the company has the right to manage its network, but disapproves of the method, saying it appears to be deceptive.
"There's the wrong way of going about that and the right way," said Elvey, who is a computer consultant.
…The practice of managing the flow of Internet data is known as "traffic shaping," and is already widespread among Internet service providers. It usually involves slowing down some forms of traffic, like file-sharing, while giving others priority. Other ISPs have attempted to block some file-sharing application by so-called "port filtering," but that method is easily circumvented and now largely ineffective.
Comcast's approach to traffic shaping is different because of the drastic effect it has on one type of traffic — in some cases blocking it rather than slowing it down — and the method used, which is difficult to circumvent and involves the company falsifying network traffic.
…The FCC's stance on traffic shaping is not clear. A 2005 policy statement says that "consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice," but that principle is "subject to reasonable network management." Spokeswoman Mary Diamond would not elaborate.
Free Press, a Washington-based public interest group that advocates Net Neutrality, opposes the kind of filtering applied by Comcast.
"We don't believe that any Internet provider should be able to discriminate, block or impair their consumers ability to send or receive legal content over the Internet," said Free Press spokeswoman Jen Howard.
…BitTorrent Inc. announced Oct. 9 that it was teaming up with online video companies to use its technology to distribute legal content.
Other companies that rely on peer-to-peer technology, and could be affected if Comcast decides to expand the range of applications it filters, include Internet TV service Joost, eBay Inc.'s Skype video-conferencing program and movie download appliance Vudu. There is no sign that Comcast is hampering those services.
…(Comcast subscriber Robb) Topolski agrees that Comcast has a right to manage its network and slow down traffic that affects other subscribers, but disapproves of their method.
"By Comcast not acknowledging that they do this at all, there's no way to report any problems with it," Topolski said.
Associated Press Writers Ron Harris, Brian Bergstein, Deborah Yao and Kathy Matheson contributed to this story.
