Comcast Rips Off Customers
Comcast gets caught blocking file sharing
Comcast subscribers have been complaining since last summer that the country’s second-largest Internet service provider is deliberately cutting off peer-to-peer file sharing. Now a study by the Associated Press has confirmed those reports.
Peer-to-peer networks can be used for unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials but also have many legitimate uses. File-sharing is now estimated to account for as much as 90% of Internet traffic, and many ISP’s attempt to preserve bandwidth by slowing it down.
The Associated Press found that Comcast is using an even more drastic method, which can prevent file-sharing almost entirely by sending fake messages to both computers involved in a peer-to-peer transaction, telling them to drop the connection.
Comcast is not blocking its subscribers’ downloads, only their uploads. This means that non-Comcast subscribers all over the world who seek to access those files may be the ones hardest hit.
Anyone who’s surprised by this needs to remember that this is the same media giant that has a cable monopoly in Philadelphia, and for years has refused to honor the legal requirement that it provide public access tv.
Comcast finally blinked a couple of weeks ago: Philadelphia is literally dead last of US cities to provide public access.
And I give the big red giant my money too: what choice do I have, when Verizon not only taps the line but provides shitty customer service as well?
October 20th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I really like what DirecTV and Dish Network offer, but in terms of programming and hardware, but if you want local sports, you have to get Comcast for their Sportsnet channel.
October 20th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
It’s really funny that they complain about network traffic. These are the same guys who are offering upwards of like 20+ Mbps connections and who, like Verizon, put caps on their upload speeds. Verizon FIOS caps at 30 Mbps down/5Mbps up and they push these speeds to everyone under the sun even though not everyone needs them or uses them.
Here’s an idea, Comcast, Verizon, etc – if you’re concerned about file sharing clogging your network, stop sending every last bit of data back to the government and watch your network congestion problems go bye-bye.
October 21st, 2007 at 11:44 am
What surprises me is how stupid they are with this. The routers that they use must have traffic priority available. It would simply allow them to buffer traffic and give lowest priority to P2P or anything else they would like to choke. Users would not be able to tell what was being done to them.
It wouldn’t make much if any difference when the links are not busy but could make file sharing painful if there is traffic.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:44 pm
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