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Comcast Ordered to Stop BitTorrent Traffic Interference

torrentfreak.com — ISPs have been throttling BitTorrent traffic for years now, but only recently has this turned into a political issue. In a huge victory for BitTorrent users, the FCC has now announced that it will order Comcast to stop interfering with BitTorrent traffic.

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  • borez, on 07/11/2008, -1/+402Because unlimited should mean unlimited, end of.
    • maverick999, on 07/11/2008, -5/+41Story?
      • borez, on 07/11/2008, -2/+18I was really referring to ISP's here in the UK who use the the words "Unlimited Broadband" When most of the time it's nothing of the sort, I presume it's the same in the States.
      • vpshockwave, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5There aren't near as my ISPs here (to my knowledge) that have bandwidth caps. There are some, but not as predominant.
      • cawpin, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5AFAIK, there are no ISPs here that limit your total usage, only the speed. You have the better cell phone contracts; we have the better ISP contracts.
      • aywwts4, on 07/11/2008, -0/+10Really, Almost every ISP has a bandwidth cap. Its just not advertised anywhere and remains a vauge shadowy number, until you cross it of course.
      • KingCritter, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Satellite (which, being in the middle of nowhere, is the only thing I can get besides dial-up) has a 7 gigabyte monthly cap. It's pathetic.
      • championchap, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Haha, you know "unlimited" text messaging? A friend of mine crossed that line here in the UK.
        Turns out the limit was actually 5000/month under Orange.
      • oneoverzero, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1I don't think he was asking for the story, I think he was asking if that was the next word of the phrase "end of."

        I could be wrong though.
    • ralphthemagi, on 07/11/2008, -3/+16All they are going to do is get rid of unlimited all together, just like they did in the 3G market in the US. There is no longer any such thing as unlimited 3G access. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint now only offer service with a 5GB cap for $60/mo. There are no other plans, and no exceptions. AT&T and Sprint terminate you and charge you with a $200+ ETF, and Verizon charges you $256/GB in overage over 5GB. (FYI, a 5GB cap with a 1500Kbps connection is about 7 hours of intensive use or downloading.)

      Expect to see the same thing happen in the cable market. The goal of the telecom & cable companies is to get everyone to pay the single price monopoly fee, and simply not service anyone who uses more than the average. This way they can maximize profits with a zero cost outlay because they never have to upgrade their infrastructure.

      So now that Comcast can't throttle certain kinds of traffic, they are just going to limit it all together. $10 says that by the end of the year the only "unlimited" Comcast plan is the business cable for $200+/mo.
      • cawpin, on 07/11/2008, -4/+1"FYI, a 5GB cap with a 1500Kbps connection is about 7 hours of intensive use or downloading."

        While that is theoretically true, it isn't even close to actuality. I am actually considering getting my first smart phone with internet connectivity through Verizon. I called my buddy that uses his extensively for work because I noticed that they don't have an "Unlimited" plan anymore. He said it is the 5GB plan and it has always been 5GB but they got sued. He said he has never even come close to using the 5GB in a month. Unless you're using it on your computer I can't see any way you would either. If you're using it that much you should probably just get one of the USB or other PC cards.
      • petrikigor, on 07/11/2008, -0/+6He's probably right about his main point, that the end of the unlimited internet as we know it is near, unless someone does something.
        http://digg.com/tech_news/Charging_by_the_Byte_to_ ...
        and
        http://biz.yahoo.com/nytimes/080614/1194785259060. ...
      • ralphthemagi, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0"I can't see any way you would either. If you're using it that much you should probably just get one of the USB or other PC cards."

        The 5GB limit also applies to PC cards and USB cards. It applies to all 3G service. You can kill your entire monthly allotment with a single large download.
    • bman1984, on 07/11/2008, -2/+24Unfortunately, you are not correct. I support net neutrality, but this is not it. Throttling certain types of traffic is wrong. Very wrong. The thought that when you pay for a residential broadband service, you should be able to get your maximum download speed all month long is wrong as well. I know it sucks, but hear me out.

      There are things such as dedicated service, or confirmed information rates if you will. These apply mostly to business and commercial packages. If you do not have one, unfortunately, you do not have the "right" to use your maximum amount of bandwidth, 24x7x365. Check out the price on a 10 Mbps dedicated service. There are obvious reasons it is more expensive. There is no network in the world that could handle all of its residential users using their maximum bandwidth simultaneously.

      Unlimited hours does not mean unlimited bandwidth. Plain and simple. I will side with you in one way however. America, and Canada, face a problem. Huge corporations are not upgrading their infrastructure at a rate that is on par with the rest of the world. We are falling behind fast, and none of the ISPs seem to care. Huge profits are being made by communication companies, but where are the huge upgrades in infrastructure. The telecommunication companies are back at what they do best. They are trying to turn the internet access into a "feature" based system. With this system, little investment is required on their end. Almost no investment in physical infrastructure is needed. But they get profit. Much more profit than they would be able to get otherwise. In all reality, with the advances in technology, your internet speeds should go up without any increase in cost. I would not bet my life on that happening. The communication companies are thieves, and they serve only their wallets.
      • digitalarcanum, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2I don't think we're talking about the same things here as far as bandwidth is concerned, you seem to be talking more along the lines of quality of service- or "why can't I download a 10Mbps and upload consistently at 1Mbps?" that's when stuff like leased lines and CIRs get involved.

        Most people wouldn't miss having their maximum upload and download (gamers and those who communicate online rely on upload more than download, and most of the time you'll never get a full 10Mbps down because your download is Dependant on how fast the other side can upload) however, when an ISP is trying to force your hand and say 'no' when you want to run an application on their network, a network that you pay to use, then I have to say it's wrong. bittorrent doesn't violate any TOS, yet because people are using a service that they pay for and/or are entitled to due to that payment, then yes, I have to say it's pretty wrong.

        As the world wide web and e-commerce continue to progress and more feature-rich, high bandwidth utilization applications and features become available, this is going to become a problem for ISPs, who seldom upgrade their infrastructure unless competition requires them to and for the unfortunate lot of us, there is no competition most the time.
      • superkendall, on 07/12/2008, -0/+3Throttling bandwidth for some traffic I am OK with, for the reasons you mentioned.

        But traffic shaping is not what Comcast was doing. They were intentionally BREAKING transmissions with forged packets. That's where I start to say, they have crossed the line and must find some other way to manage load that does not BREAK good and bad traffic alike.
      • bman1984, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Agreed. Network management strategies can use traffic shaping. The method Comcast used was horrible. After working in IT for some time I suspect I understand the issue. Business minded people ( non IT ) do not deal well with technology based business management.

        Let me be more specific. They do not deal well with many of the differences between IT business decisions. Technology advances require almost constant upgrading whether it be hardware or software relating to many different systems. This does not apply to many other business models where there is heavy initial investment, and a small cost of maintenance. What it comes down to is $$. Business decision makers want to spend as little as possible while making as much as possible. This breaks down to choices, invest in infrastructure or reduce the amount of bandwidth any one consumer can consume. Not to mention, companies always want to increase market share. The idea of no growth just does not fly with business minded folk. If you want to add more consumers to a network, and not invest in infrastructure, you have to get creative to be able to provide service to these customers.

        Combine this with the fact that although it is a free( kind of ) market, there are extremely huge barriers to entry. The amount of investment required to get even a small scale ISP off of the ground is huge. There is little to no competition in the market. The ones that do compete are the same communications companies that have had North Americans, Canadian and American telecoms are one and the same, bending over and taking it for over century now.

        The worst part is, there is no immediate solution to this problem.
    • b0rg, on 07/11/2008, -7/+3I have agreements with companies for "port=CIR" bandwidth. They cost more than your cable modem. (but not always as much as you'd think - sometimes there ARE alternatives)
      Long story short, you are not going to get 8mb/s of continuous download for 30 days for $50.

      We all think getting unlimited movies, software, and music for $50 a month is a pretty cool idea, but it just isn't realistic. Sorry.
    • themastersb, on 07/11/2008, -1/+4Now we just need something done about the problems we have in Canada.
      • bman1984, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4The fact that government grants are given to these ISPs without any monitoring of these funds is atrocious.

        My province gave Bell Canada gross amounts of money for new infrastructure. I live in an area, 15 minutes from a capital city. Fibre lines run directly in front of my house to supply a neighboring community (I am approximately half way in between the two) All that is necessary is a DSLAM every so often on these fibre lines to provide access to the few groups of houses along the way. Do you think Bell would do that. Of course not... Unless of course you are a bell employee, then you get your own personal DSLAM ( I have witnessed it with my own eyes )
    • SolituSneiku, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1I really hate waking up in the morning to see my Torrents all of the sudden drop dead with no connection for some odd reason...nice to stick it to them
  • maverick999, on 07/11/2008, -1/+111Sweet justice.
    • jblade, on 07/11/2008, -0/+26Eat it corporate America, the people are on the scoreboard.

      Corporate America | 1534364

      People | 1
      • layzice, on 07/11/2008, -5/+2Score one for the good guys, literally.

        Even though we will pay for it in the end, they'll teach us to mess up their record.
      • Sage920, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5I think Corporate America has a higher score than that :(
    • caseycoold, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4It still has to be voted on:
      http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2325455,00.as ...

      P.S. Digg keeps rejecting my token, randomly signing me out. that ***** is annoying. anyone else get that?
    • fluxingtontheIV, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Finally some good news. Now we just need that to happen in Canada too...
    • jester55, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2HAHA ***** YOU COMCAST!
  • funchords, on 07/11/2008, -3/+120Ernesto and Torrentfreak,

    Thank you for your great and early coverage of this story!

    The technological power that enabled Comcast to block P2P uploads did not exist until late 2006 and was only employed mid-to-late 2007. Only one other ISP (Cox) seemed to do the same. I wouldn't say that this spells the end to unlimited access plans. We've had all-you-can-eat Broadband since before the year 2000.

    Two ISPs got greedy and decided to put a halt to the Internet's growth, and spent their money on secret technology to steal purchased bandwidth back from their own customers.

    Both got caught, publically, but only Comcast tried the tactics of deny, diffuse, deflect, defame, and disillusion.

    When Comcast bought up large systems to become the largest Cable MSO, it did not buy the Internet. It has no right to change how it works -- not one byte of it.

    How the world-wide Internet works is defined by all of us, through our participation and trust in the Internet Society and the Internet Engineering Task Force. To ensure interoperability and access for all, changes must be carefully deliberated and standardized there. The responsibility of operating the Internet in accordance with those standards is entrusted to companies providing access to it. It's not Comcast's job to change how the Internet works nor can it decide who or what gets preference upon it.

    I haven't seen anything other than the press reports about something to be circulated around the FCC. I am hopeful that when the details are released that it serves to preserve and protect the Internet from those who would abuse their power and change it.

    Robb Topolski
    • worminater, on 07/11/2008, -1/+4This will do nothing but encourage a limit of "all you can eat" unlimited broadband. I like what you want to happen; but i just don't consider that reality.
      • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -0/+6All it takes in one ISP not to impose a limit cap and it goes down. A lot of ISPs do not have caps, I''ll soon be switching to one from Comcast.
      • worminater, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4and good luck in rural america
      • petrikigor, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2So far Verizon looks like the only one not considering it: http://digg.com/tech_news/Charging_by_the_Byte_to_ ...

        If there is one company that offers unlimited broadband at a reasonable price, they will monopolize the ISP market. I pray to god that happens.
      • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1@worminater

        Satellite DSL is their only option. DirectTV provides this as well as other groups. If you want to be lazy you can actually check at your local Best Buy for local providers.
      • worminater, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1@DarkShroud Have you ever used satellite net? It's worse then throttled comcast; with 500ms pings being the best you can generally hoped for.
    • digitalpencil, on 07/12/2008, -1/+4First time i've not buried someone for signing their posts... well said.
    • poiuytrewq44, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1So I see you like barbershop quartets.
  • AsSubtleAsABrik, on 07/11/2008, -1/+191"It is to be expected that - if the pipes are really congested - Comcast and other ISPs will have to step away from the all-you-can-eat plans they have been offering for years, now that people are actually using bandwidth they signed up for."

    Or build "bigger" pipes? I pay them enough money. Sometimes I think cable and internet providers are more greedy than the ***** oil companies.
    • earnjam, on 07/11/2008, -0/+39"Sometimes I think cable and internet providers are more greedy than the ***** oil companies."

      Amen.
    • worminater, on 07/11/2008, -0/+10companies don't think like that. They'll increase their infrastructure investment when they *have* to; but what kind of cash cow would it be to just simply stick a cap and give "fines" to those who actually use any significant amount of bandwidth?
    • monkeystick, on 07/11/2008, -0/+30..or start activating all that dark fiber already in place.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fiber
      • petrikigor, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Speaking of which, I read Google has been buying some of that, lately. Maybe they will offer unlimited broadband in the future.
    • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -0/+9Comcast isn't even using DOCS 3 yet. They're supposed to be switching over some time soon. But yes it's time to activate all the damn fiber we actually have laid in this country.
    • twiztidsinz, on 07/11/2008, -0/+21But if Comcast upgrades their infrastructure like they (and many other ISPs) were supposed to have have done then they cant roll around in the piles of $100 bills... They'd have to use $10 bills, and those just dont feel the same.
      • catbeller, on 07/11/2008, -0/+19They were supposed to do it, indeed. In 1997, they were given billions of dollars in tax breaks for the specific purpose of bringing broadband fiber, etc, to the door. They reneged and kept the money. We've already paid for it. They committed fraud.
    • Skooma714, on 07/11/2008, -4/+3Oil companies don't directly control the prices and they receive less profit on a gallon of gas then the government does in taxes.
      • twiztidsinz, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2wot?
      • digitalarcanum, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2say that again, but this time go look at the top five companies in the fortune 500.
    • milliamp, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1You know, these companies all sell a business class tier service that is ***** with but costs more and people voted with their wallets by deciding not to pay extra for it.

      It has now basically been mandated that everyone must get this class of service (probably raising the prices) when people, when given the option to choose freely in the past, decided they would rather deal with the lower class of service than pay extra.

      I am sure the non torrent-using Comcast customers are going to be thrilled as Comcast removes their traffic shaping equipment and replaces it with a monthly fee to cover extra costs.

      • Dauntless1, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0The point is that ANY response from the ISP's except to actually upgrade like the government has been paying them to do is unacceptable. It isn't the end users' fault that the companies don't want to keep up.
  • bubbles19518, on 07/11/2008, -2/+54Bout ***** time.
  • Ljay90, on 07/11/2008, -1/+250Wait, did the FCC actually get it right this time?
    • sugarazor, on 07/11/2008, -1/+14Yes, and now their foot is in the door. Can't wait to see where that leads.
    • kaelyiesta, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4Despite peoples generalizations(my own included), the FCC isn't all bad or at least they arent stupid. Even if they do have connections to telecomunication businessmen, they are ultimately accountable to us, the people. When we complain loud enough, they will listen. If they were completely deaf to the laws in place and citizens making a demand they uphold them, people will start thinking the FCC is just a pretense; We would have more evidence that they are really pushing the telcos interests.

      They have to pick their battles.
      • sockpuppets, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3A pig just flew into my balcony window.
    • the2989, on 07/11/2008, -2/+2So the FCC won't let me be or let me be me so let me see...
  • Celeborn27, on 07/11/2008, -2/+30VICTORY!!!!
  • 321george, on 07/11/2008, -2/+88Up yours Comcast!
    • sovietninja, on 07/11/2008, -13/+4Make 7
      • FizixMan, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5Up yours!
      • sovietninja, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1People really don't like me or something. I thought the whole backwards soviet angle on the joke would be funny. Looks like I need to find a comrade with an ice pick now. Goodbye.
    • OptionalPirate, on 07/12/2008, -0/+3Yeah, up yours! No more of this 50 kb/s bullcrap!
  • austinnowlin, on 07/11/2008, -2/+23I am happy that this case seems to be moving in the right direction.
    Does anyone know how long it will be before this actually affects me as a Comcast user?
    I am not being a smartass.
    I am actually curious to find the answer to this question.
    • saphyrre, on 07/11/2008, -2/+11
      Knowing Comcast, probably another 10 yers or so :)
    • richiewrt, on 07/11/2008, -0/+15After they have exhausted their 12 appeals, and the 12 appeals on their appeals.
    • vypergts, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Supposedly they already stopped doing it and are investigating other types of network management.
  • prophetpimp, on 07/11/2008, -16/+4***** YHEA.
  • conversekid, on 07/11/2008, -3/+12That's great, but I have a feeling that they're either going to come up with something else, secretly keep doing it, start reporting "illegal" traffic or a combination.

    However, if the pessimist in me is proven wrong......

    ***** YEAH!!!
  • GreenChaos, on 07/11/2008, -3/+12I'm still not getting Comcast internet in spite. But still, Yeah FCC for something good!
  • PoopStick, on 07/11/2008, -0/+11So this stops Sandvine but it doesnt stop them from profiling and adding you to a degraded tear when you use to much.
    Sure this will bring on Caps faster and 250 gigs isnt a lot.
    • Robthefrog, on 07/11/2008, -2/+3How the ***** are you downloading 250 gigs a month? I mean I saw the 80gig hentai porn collection compilation torrent, but what else are you downloading?
      • ConceptualTrap, on 07/11/2008, -0/+7250 isn't really THAT much to be fair. Especially if he's download tv series in HD.

        Nevermind all the other bandwidth from streaming vid, sharing files, and downloading games.

        Is it excessive? Totally.
      • Robthefrog, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2Get yourself a netmeter and you'd be surprized. I do a fair share of downloading tv shows and tons of porn... I barely ever get near the 100gig mark on a month to month basis.
      • PoopStick, on 07/11/2008, -4/+2You want the truth? well HD video average about 9 to 14 gigs.

        That blueray and HD format war drove me to it.(not really) it was the price increase from DVD that did it. Now i refuse to buy any standalone player besides my PC.

        1 TB Drive = about 189.00 holds close to 80 movies
        But they charge 35.00 for HD movies in some format at the local store.

        80 x 35 = 2800.00 that i would have Never bought.
        I can buy a lot of hard drive space for 2800.00 even a very nice PC or 1 crappy Mac.

        Internet = free thanks to neighbors (Just Joking)

        I monitor all my traffic with IPCOP Net-traffic mod.

        Linux Distros too both x64 and x86 but i never keep these so i just download them when i need them.

        Robin Hood is the way i look at it ***** over Corporate America and give to the Poor.

        ***** you if you cant play the game and are a slave to corporate America
    • Ravatar, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Wtf, I'd consider myself pretty heavy use and I'm averaging about 2GB per day. 50-75GB seems like a suitable 'cap' if the overage fees were reasonable.

      I'd be in favor of a system like:

      25mbit down/5mbit up (GUARENTEED)
      Monthly Fee: $19 for your first 10GB
      Additional Rate: $0.39 per GB, upload metered at $0.07 per GB

      It seems like most of the market either uses NONE of their bandwidth or a TON of it. This seems fair to both groups. I've had months where I downloaded probably 300GB and I'd gladly pay for my usage, if I had a SLA, including a guarentee on my available bandwidth.
    • Ravatar, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1If you're doing a majority of your downloading through pirating software/video then you have no room to talk about the pitiful state of ISP health in the states. I realize I'm going to be buried in short order but it has to be said.

      The UNLIMITED USAGE concept is so pointless and impossible. Meter it and charge us for what we use and be done with it.
    • Dauntless1, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0Actually, the cap is 5 gigs for base level, 40 gigs for advanced user tier. Retarded, isn't it?
  • onlyone0001, on 07/11/2008, -0/+83What about a PENALTY?
    • Lugano, on 07/11/2008, -0/+51Any financial penalty would be passed on to the customers anyway.
      • dilpil1, on 07/12/2008, -0/+4I see you've taken Econ 101. Congrats.

        However, no. Business is far, far more complicated than that.
  • fejjfunklamella, on 07/11/2008, -10/+2Wow. This is the third article about this I've seen on the front page today. While I'm happy that Comaca$h is getting spanked, I really wish others would not submit dupe stories.
  • zakatov, on 07/11/2008, -1/+14I would digg this a million times if I could. Fsck Comcast.
    • toxicshok, on 07/11/2008, -0/+10This is Digg, you don't have to censor yourself.
      • rowjimmy, on 07/11/2008, -0/+16he didn't; he wanted to check the file-system consistency of comcast.
      • flarn2006, on 07/11/2008, -1/+3Because Digg can do it for you if you want it to.
  • skyshock1, on 07/11/2008, -0/+13Awesome!!!

    Now for the part no one wants to talk about: How will the FCC enforce this?

    ....
    • richiewrt, on 07/11/2008, -1/+11Giant civil fines, passed on to the customer of course.
  • freelio, on 07/11/2008, -0/+33Like it will happen, comcast will just find another way to circumvent the law and screw us over some more.
    • paulmer2003, on 07/11/2008, -1/+16Yay for negativity!
    • sockpuppets, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5I just wish they were honest about it. "Hey, what's this $4.99 "***** You Surcharge" on my bill?
  • robbob, on 07/11/2008, -0/+16Where's the subscriber's rebate for this? Users must get paid for this. Comcast should suffer financially, not just a scolding from the FCC.
  • Fatcheeseguy, on 07/11/2008, -0/+9Just the opposite of what I expected after the recent FISA act.
  • Splizxer, on 07/11/2008, -1/+52Haha, eat a dick comcast!
  • olafcore, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5now if they can only get at&t to stop too -- i'm constantly getting throttled.
    • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4AT&T doesn't throttle. They just have really low upload speeds that they sell in bits instead of Bytes. Take the upload limit from your plan and divide it by 8, that's you're real speed.
      • olafcore, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2no, they drop my connection when i download torrents and only torrents.
    • b0rg, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2The "throttling" you think you're seeing might just be network congestion from everyone else running BT at the same time.
  • Kanele, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3appeal?
  • Holocaust, on 07/11/2008, -0/+10FCC FTW?
  • Robthefrog, on 07/11/2008, -4/+4Is there are mirror for this article? I'm at work and they block torrentfreak.
  • Nayamina, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5Considering the copyright bills we're facing up here at the moment I never thought I'd say this but here it is: For once, I'd be glad to see Canada adopt an American policy. Let's hope Canada follows suit and smacks on Bell and Rogers upside the head for throttling for throttling.
    • leeg, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3I was going to post the same sentiment. The Harper gov't likes to copy American policies so its likely he will on this too.
  • dekuscrub, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4Finally some good news in a story about Comcast.
    • BobScratchit, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Even though this good news was forced on Comcast against their will.
      • Dauntless1, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0Yeah, cause they weren't choosing the customers that they were going to block "against their will".
  • tiuk, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Wow, did not expect this. Good news for you guys.
  • dagamer34, on 07/11/2008, -0/+21Yep, Comcast got slapped in its face for essentially creating a "tiered" internet where Bittorrent traffic was shafted for their own personal gains. Especially when Bittorrent has several legal uses now, screaming piracy immediately is like Best Buy arresting a customer for buying a 160GB iPod because there's no way you can fill it up with legal music!
  • ghsfr33d0m, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5This is a huge victory for all internet users. The FCC is setting an amazing precedent with this ruling, making it unacceptable to hinder web traffic. We have known that Comcast's actions against the bittorrent protocol were wrong since torrentfreak broke the news almost a year ago but this represents the formal declaration making it officially unacceptable forever. This decision is one of the greatest victory's net neutrality has ever won. Digg this up, this is huge.
  • dislexicllama, on 07/11/2008, -2/+7Hey FCC, come do the same in Canada yea?
  • Damian91, on 07/11/2008, -2/+2Well they're able to spy now, no need to meddle with that anymore; bigger things to do. Either way I don't trust this as all, call me crazy.
  • Enisity, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5Thank god when ever im downloading linux distros and then start uploading my net just seems to shut off. Hopefully comcast will listen. Or im switching to fios.
    • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4Just go ahead and switch. That's the only thing that will actually make them listen. And when you call in to cancel your service make sure you tell them about messing with BitTorrent being part of the reason.

      My area doesn't have Fios yet.
    • Parkinsons, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5You have fios in your area and you are sticking with Comcast?
  • Stareye, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5Sadly, I think a couple of comments on Torrent Freak were correct-this is going to cost us in the long run even tho' it IS great it happened.
    Comcast are a bunch of *****-I was a victim of their throttling BS-it was so obvious I could tell what was happening before it was exposed in the news...got so frustrated with it I went to DSL 6mb which, yes, is not as fast but I have much more consistent and reliable bandwidth-yeah, fast is great and I miss it sometimes but ZERO, bumped, zilch, crawl to a useless almost complete ***** stop is NOT SO GOOD-***** the ***** (trust me, they will still end up screwing everyone they can).
    I wonder if they are ever going to get it for the bait and switch they pulled on HD/TVR upgraders also???

    Comcast is EVIL
    Peace and have a nice day.
  • AlienMushroom, on 07/11/2008, -0/+16Next month on Digg's front page: Comcast facing $1 trillion law suit.
  • rice0031, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Get lost, comcast.

    FCC: please have a chitchat with the CRTC :)
    High-fives for all the bittorrent users in the states!
  • freff, on 07/11/2008, -0/+8You buried the lead here. This is a HUGE victory for Net Neutrality. We can all celebrate this one folks. The FCC got one right.

    Screw Comcast.
  • DukeLeto2, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Call me cynical but if we just had a news story (ok, so old news IS exciting) about ATT having a secret room that captures ALL data and voice traffic for the government and then the same gov't wants complete access for everyone to use the pipes as they wish.... well you know where I'm going.

    /It's for our freedoms!
  • JointVenture, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1What if COMCAST reaction is, OK ***** em if they want to download torrents we'll cooperate with the authorities and shut them down that way?
  • roseman5285, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1so, when does it start, cause my DLs just hit rock bottom....
  • KunoJ, on 07/11/2008, -1/+16***** THE RIAA!!!

    Wait sorry...wrong mob.

    /changes sign...***** COMCAST!!
    • Jeremyz0r, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1It's all right, there is a late of hate to go around.
  • rasbill, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2thats too bad for comcast they just lost me as a customer for this reason 3 days ago
    • dynelol, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4Their emotional scars will heal with time.
  • SilverBlade2k, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Finally the FCC stepped in...
  • jameswfischer, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2I hope it lasts.
  • NecroSexy, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3It's bad enough my upload is capped at around 40 KB/s. Good news!
    • Jeremyz0r, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1You can only upload at 4Kb per second? O_O (Dial-up much?)
  • Noncentz, on 07/11/2008, -5/+4Somewhere out there Al Gore is smiling........... :)
    • DarkShroud, on 07/11/2008, -3/+3Yeah with the 100 million dollars in profits from his carbon credit scam. Now maybe he can make a new documentary without using fake movie footage from "The Day After Tomorrow" and pay people to fact check so there won't be another fallacy list.
  • Andrwmorph, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5Will this effect their overall speed? They claimed that they throttled BT traffic because it was clogging the tubes.


    PS: Woo! Now I can download porn at full speed again!
  • say592, on 07/11/2008, -1/+8Epic. *****. Win.
  • jjcyber, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Epic win! Now if only we could have prevented the post-facto immunity for the spying telecoms...But still, this is a step in the right direction. Spread knowledge freely via torrents!
    • dynelol, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2and by knowledge you mean programs, movies and songs. lol
  • jordn, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3hopefully average swarm speeds should increase! :D
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