Comcast busted for bagging BitTorrents (again)
'We manage, but we don't block.'
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New tests have confirmed that Comcast is throttling file-sharing traffic.
Citing tests run on machines across the US, The Associated Press reported today that the big-name internet service provider "actively interferes" with attempts to swap files over P2P networks like BitTorrent, eDonkey, and Gnutella.
The Reg first discussed this phenomenon in late August, after a post on the Dutch file-sharing blog TorrentFreak.
But claims of Comcast P2P throttling go all the way back to the late spring, when a independent tester named Robb Topolski told readers on DSLReports that the ISP was using a networking management tool called Sandvine to prevent BitTorrent users from "seeding" files - i.e. making them available to other users.
This afternoon, Comcast told us the much same thing it told us in August. "Comcast does not block access to any Websites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent," reads the company's canned statement.
But no one is accusing the ISP of "blocking" access to web sites or applications. At issue is whether it's interfering with traffic. Later in the statement, Comcast does cop to "managing" traffic, but it says this is simply part of an effort to provide it's users with a really good time.
"Our customers use the Internet for downloading and uploading files, watching movies and videos, streaming music, sharing digital photos, accessing numerous peer-to-peer sites and thousands of applications online," the statement continues. "We have a responsibility to provide all of our customers with a good Internet experience and we use the latest technologies to manage our network so that they can continue to enjoy these applications." ®
COMMENTS
@Pascal Monett re "fascism"
The person you mentioned as a "striking example" of fascism may well be "striking", but was in fact not really typical of fascism. I think Mussolini would be a better example of a typical fascist.
In any case, you have automatically lost the argument by mentioning him. Sorry.
@ Daniel B
Have you put iptraf in front of the box you have that running on? I can almost bet that it's not showing you the right numbers in your client. But the simple fact is bittorrent is detrimental to a network, and comcast is doing what any good network admin is doing and removing the problem from their network.
Go comcast. Block 'em good.
@ throttle bittorrent clients
"I've never seen *any* bittorrent client really allow you to throttle your own uploads."
"I've never seen *any* bittorrent client really allow you to throttle your own uploads."
What clients do you use? My BitTornado clients have a nice --max_upload_rate flag that works pretty much as it must, it keeps upload rate at the speed I ask it for. My previous ISP barfed if my upload rate hit the advertised max, and as a result any non-P2P traffic went dead. I found this out because when a friend jacked into my network, his eMule/Azureus/etc apps would eat away the upload and immediately kill everything else.
Anyway, my current ISP doesn't throttle network traffic, and in fact service hasn't been the least bit bad. Cable companies however throttle AND block their connections; they even give private addys (10.x.x.x) so setting up servers in there is *impossible*. Those who still use cable ISP's are either too stupid to realize it or don't want to spend $30 USD on a 1Mbps ADSL link.
Local monopoly Telmex may be bad on some stuff, but it is the best broadband ISP over here.
That said, I do reserve the right to throttle uplinks/downlinks on my local network to avoid p2p'ers from choking my upload pipe.
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