Comcast submits final details on broadband management

Comcast, the U.S' largest cable company has officially sent in their plans for broadband management to the FCC fulfilling their punishment for breaking net neutrality laws.

The new plan will not 'throttle' BitTorrent and other specific applications but instead will slow Internet speeds for the network's heaviest users when the network is "congested." We originally reported this in August but Comcast denied.

The filing comes after Comcast tried the new approach in five cities over the last three months. The company added that there were no documented complaints about the the method during the trial and that "less than 1% of customers were affected on a typical day."

Comcast has been at the center of controversy for some time now after they were found to be illegally "throttling" BitTorrent and P2P users, almost shutting down their internet when they would try to use the file sharing applications. The company was sued and was eventually found guilty of breaking net neutrality laws by the FCC.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Sep 2008 14:20

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19 comments

Pop_Smith

Originally posted by DVDBack23: The new plan will not 'throttle' BitTorrent and other specific applications but instead will slow Internet speeds for the network's heaviest users when the network is "congested." We originally reported this in August but Comcast denied. Great...this sounds like a thin guise Comcast is attempting to hide under to me instead of an actual fix to the problem.

However, due to the bandwidth caps coming in 9 days they will probably see some "self-throttling" done by users who don't want to get kicked off Comcast's network.

22.9.2008 15:10 #1

ZippyDSM

Fix yer pipes and you wont have congestion issues...

22.9.2008 15:16 #2

b18bek9

watch them lose customers/money and see how they change their tactics.

22.9.2008 16:16 #3

Azuran

Originally posted by b18bek9: watch them lose customers/money and see how they change their tactics.Doubt it. For one many people do not have a choice. And second I would say a sizable majority of their customer base doesn't even have a clue any of this is going on.

22.9.2008 17:08 #4

susieqbbb

problem with this idea.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 downloads demo's at 1 to 2 gig a download which pulls the same load as Bittorrent and as P2P networks.

How are they going to tell???

Even if you play online games the games pull a load so i would love to know how they can tell they cannot.

This is so going to blow up in there face.

Also how are they going to track usage when hackers can attack any wireless network out there.

This really doesn't solve the problem just creates more problems.

22.9.2008 17:22 #5

beanos66

Here in the U.K. Virginmedia have been doing this for about 2 yrs now experimenting with different thresholds, at the moment if you download 1� HD programmes the 20meg connection is cut to less than a quarter :(

22.9.2008 17:56 #6

13thHouR

Originally posted by Pop_Smith: Originally posted by DVDBack23: The new plan will not 'throttle' BitTorrent and other specific applications but instead will slow Internet speeds for the network's heaviest users when the network is "congested." We originally reported this in August but Comcast denied. Great...this sounds like a thin guise Comcast is attempting to hide under to me instead of an actual fix to the problem.

However, due to the bandwidth caps coming in 9 days they will probably see some "self-throttling" done by users who don't want to get kicked off Comcast's network.
That's it exactly, and who exactly is a "heavy user"? what's the limits what's the congestion cap as obviously its going to be different to their fair use cap?

This is their way of saying FU we are not going to change one bit, what we have been doing all along we will just label everyone a "heavy user"!

22.9.2008 18:02 #7

kevbr

I agree with Comcast, they are trying to be fair to customers who are trying to use and retain the speed that they have paid for, Comcast is trying to put on the breaks for those who Steal Music,Software by torrent downloads!!

250GB Capp equals to downloading one movie per day for each month, this is fair, if you are using more then this per month then you are abusing the terms and agreement put forth by Comcast. There is a large percentage of current Comcast customers that are using a Residental Account for Business purposes from where Comcast has the right to cancel your account immediately !

22.9.2008 18:59 #8

dsws

@kevbr

I can easily trump Comcast�s bandwidth cap of 250 GB (not 250 Mb). Without downloading or uploading anything illegal; also, I do not use a residential account for business use. So where does that put me? I live in house with all guys who like to play video games, watch streaming video, and just do stuff on the internet. What do you suggest, that we get multiple accounts for the same residential address? I am sure Comcast would like that, but it�s not happening.

It is a bit late to put the lid back on the box. This time, even, hope has escaped, but it will be interesting to see how things turn out for Comcast.

Oh, by the way, what about movies? Is it legal to share those now?

Finally please get it right and educate yourself. Sharing copyrighted works is copyright infringement not stealing. If you live in the USA, the supreme court has ruled on this fact.

22.9.2008 20:12 #9

Azuran

Originally posted by kevbr: I agree with Comcast, they are trying to be fair to customers who are trying to use and retain the speed that they have paid for, Comcast is trying to put on the breaks for those who Steal Music,Software by torrent downloads!!

250GB Capp equals to downloading one movie per day for each month, this is fair, if you are using more then this per month then you are abusing the terms and agreement put forth by Comcast. There is a large percentage of current Comcast customers that are using a Residental Account for Business purposes from where Comcast has the right to cancel your account immediately !Obvious comcast employee is obvious.

22.9.2008 21:16 #10

slickwill

I think the real problem is that the technology cannot keep up with the volume of customer traffic.

What they should be doing is figuring out a way to increase the bandwidth, whether it be cable or some other wire form, to handle the high demands without restricting the customers usage.

Or some other company who has better service should plow into the territory where cumcast exists as an internet monopoly, and take all there customers away by providing better service.

22.9.2008 21:19 #11

windsong

22.9.2008 21:27 #12

Unfocused

@kevbr
Quote:if you are using more then this per month then you are abusing the terms and agreement put forth by Comcast. When I signed up for Comcast, the terms and conditions were "Unlimited Internet." This isn't exactly vague terminology. Now, I did notice that when I went to the website recently, nowhere under a new Internet account does it list anything remotely related to the phrase "unlimited."

With the recent advent of anybody and everybody adding stuff to stream from their websites (Netflix, ABC, HBO, YouTube, etc.), this 250GB limit is not hard to break. If anything, I would think that Joe Schmoe Internet user might actually consume more bandwidth than the dedicated movie pirate. Pirates are usually only trying to access one thing. Joe Schmoe user is all over the 'net clicking on page after page.

22.9.2008 21:36 #13

Mez

Before I defend Comcrap, I beleive they are one of the sleaziest companies out there.

About a year ago half the total internet traffic was torrents by Feb it was up to 65%. That is when Comcast and other ISPs went on the offensive. I just saw a new survey just the other day and torrents were down to a third of the US traffic.

Since torrents do not have the legal risks of the simple P2P networks, there was nothing to stop torrents from taking down the internet. Just fixing the pipes would not help the problem. That would just invite more bandwidth abuse. The real problem is torrents are too good to be true. I think Comcast did fix the problem!

kevbr, 250 G is a lie! No one will ever see that. You MIGHT be able to down load 100 g in a month. I bet it will be more like 50 g. Comcast trottles any computer that uses that kind of band width after 30 min. That is part of their stated plan. Being net neutral they do not care how you are using the bandwidth. Trying to prove what a torrent client is doing is near impossible if the torrent flows are being encrypted. It is smarter and more fair just to throttle everyone sucking up too much band width.

Comcast will throttle the users that have no other ISP options the hardest. Most ISPs are shaping bandwidth so it really does not matter. That is the only way you would get a 50% drop in torrent traffic in the US over the last 6 months.

23.9.2008 07:50 #14

mspurloc

No complaints, huh?

Well, Comcast has never lied to us before.

23.9.2008 11:31 #15

mnm22

Comcast "thwarts" me constantly. I am not a music thief. I am not a gamer.

I am a teacher. A teacher who is trying to help students with learning challenges through multimedia, SecondLife, and interactive online "ware" that appeals to all learning sides and specific learner's needs.

Comcast needs to stop this. Trust me everyone on the Web wants the people who do what I do to use up all the Bandwidth if we need it.

We are educating the future global citizen who will run this world in the not too distant future.

I do my work from home because I am dedicated. I pay my bill for broadband service. And, every time Comcast pulls their little "killing my connection trick", someone's child doesn't learn something.

23.9.2008 13:43 #16

david89

250gb not that great it should be 500 gigs like japan is doing be more fair their just trying find away get more $$$ without fixing network.

23.9.2008 16:13 #17

fgamer

Thank goodness we don't have that crappy a$$ Comcast here in Wisconsin. It's such ashame that most people with Comcast can't just switch because in allot of those markets there really isn't any other ISP, so it's really a monopolization which sucks for people there. I know Time Warner Cable is instituting this type of thing also soon, which really pisses me off because they're the only ISP offering the speeds they do. We have At&t but I really don't like dsl :( so I guess I'll have to complain and adapt with TWC's new policies which will be coming soon to all abroad. They started that HBO broadband stuff here in WI first so I know they'll be instituting that crappy band limit after Texas :(

24.9.2008 13:58 #18

Mez

mnm22, Comcast does not care why you are are using too much band width. I do not even think they have control over the rogue watch dog app that attacks you. They do not want any records since it is not legal but extremely effective.

So you think you have more rights to extra bandwidth than pirates, gamers and persons that stream videos? Tell it to Comcast. Who knows they might be able to exclude nodes but that would be a stupid thing to do. Then they would have all sorts of requests. Rogue robot apps are better that way.

24.9.2008 15:21 #19

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