When it rains, it pours. For the past two weeks it’s been all I could do to keep up on Minnesota broadband happenings. Off in the ether, I’ve been getting glimpses at the FCC’s activity but I haven’t been tracking it too closely. Well the news broke today on FCC ruling on the Comcast/BitTorrent case and I want to thank Jim Baller for not only tracking the news but allowing me to post his comments here. (Jim maintains a great daily email list of telecommunications policy news.)
The big news is that the FCC just ruled, as widely expected, that Comcast’s treatment of BitTorrent traffic violates the FCC’s broadband policies.
According to Commissioner Michael Copps, who joined with Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to form a 3-2 majority, “This is a landmark decision for the FCC—a meaningful stride forward on the road to guaranteed openness of the Internet.”
The decision does not attempt to lay down rules for all situations but focuses on the specific Comcast practices at issue. The FCC emphasizes the need for a balance between preserving the openness of the Internet and permitting essential network management.
A written order is not yet available. The FCC’s press release and the statements of Chairman Martin and Commissioners Copps and Adelstein are available at www.fcc.gov. They are well worth reading.
