Comcast admits throttling BitTorrent usage on customers

By: Steven Chu
Staff Writer
Published: Feb 14, 2008

The cable provider said that it was limiting peer-to-peer BitTorrent traffic to generously provide more bandwidth for all customers.

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Comcast made the FCC filing to defend itself against groups alleging that it was violating the FCC's 2005 Internet Policy Statement.

Comcast said that it was limiting the traffic in an attempt to free up bandwidth for all customers.

"The carefully Limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network -- including its very limited management of certain P2P protocols -- are a reasonable part of Comcast's strategy to ensure a high-quality, reliable Internet experience for all Comcast High-Speed Internet customers," read the company's statement. It added that the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol "utilize(s) immense amounts of Bandwidth in ways that are unpredictable and inconsistent and that can threaten to overwhelm network capacity and harm the online experience of other users." the company said in its 80-page filing with the FCC.

The cable company also included some specifics on how BitTorrent traffic is handled by disrupting P2P traffic during peak hours, but not downloading at the same time. It also states that neither downloads, nor uploads taking place simultaneously with downloads are affected.

Net neutrality groups do not accept Comcast's explanation, accusing the cable provider of not managing bandwidth hogs, but undercutting its competition. The groups call the bandwidth throttling "fishy" to hamstring other services.