Comcast Admits Use of Reset Packets
By Jen on February 14 2008 at 03:15 PM
The Federal Communications Commission heard from Comcast Corp in formal comments on Tuesday. The “Net Neutrality” or treating all Internet traffic equally was the topic.
Comcast insists that slowing some file-sharing downloads was justifiable to keep the Internet traffic flowing for all users. Comcast’s comments are the most detailed yet on how they handle the traffic on its network.
Comcast is responding to formal complaints to the FCC from law professors and consumer advocate groups. The groups are accusing Comcast of breaking the promise of “Net Neutrality” and interfering with movie downloading services that may compete with Comcast’s services.
Comcast insists it must control the flow of file-sharing traffic to prevent a few users from monopolizing the data lines and slow the traffic in their neighborhood. They also say they have the right to insert “reset” packets in the data stream to break the connection of file sharers.
Comcast has updated its Acceptable Use Policy noting it has the right to break file-sharing connections on congested Internet lines.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is supportive of network management, but has said providers like Comcast should be open about their practices.
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