Comcast responds to FCC discriminatory BitTorrent activities

By: Rob Adams
Staff Writer
Published: Feb 27, 2008

Comcast policies are designed to protect most of its subscribers from degraded services created by excessive broadband usage such as BitTorrent and P2P activities, according to executive David Cohen.

Comcast executive vice president David Cohen insisted his company does everything it can to inform its consumers of its policies. He added that those policies are designed to protect most of its subscribers from degraded services created by excessive broadband usage such as BitTorrent and P2P activities.

"We try to maximize the customer experience by managing the network, but there is nothing wrong with network management," he said. "Every network must be managed in order for the network to function."

Net neutrality supporters and critics agree that the growing concer of bandwidth management has far larger implications.

The meeting also included voices from the FCC, ISPs and content distribution providers. The purpose of the debate was to gather relevant information and make it known publicly on how the FCC might proceed in terms of investigation of Net neutrality violations.

The FCC aimed their questions directly at Comcast and what they claimed is a lack of transparency about the company's operational activities.

Even so, Comcast's Cohen explained that his company clearly outlines its network management policies on its Web site and details its obligation to "temporarily delay P2P traffic if it has or is projected to have an adverse affect on other users in the network."

Comcast also has the right to delay P2P sessions during extended periods of high congestion, he said.

"We are crystal clear in our rules," he said.

The FCC panel asked Cohen specifically whether he believes the FCC has the official authority to force Comcast to stop blocking or to impose forfeiture or a fine.

In response, Cohen hinted that, he doubted the FCC has such authority -- although he added that he wasn't certain.