The AP reports that Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company and second-largest Internet service provider, is using secret technology to block file sharing by its customers. The story speculates the Comcast is probably blocking file uploads to reduce network strain rather than manage the flow of information across the Web, but says the company’s technology could easily allow ISPs to violate net neutrality customs and provide favored status to certain content providers while blocking others.
Such a scenario would be flat-out unacceptable, of course, but even if Comcast is only using its technology to prevent heavy users from slowing down everyone else’s connection, that, too, is completely unacceptable.
When customers buy “unlimited” Internet that’s advertised with download speeds of 6mb and upload speeds of 2mb, then their ISP should provide them unlimited access to just that.
If customers want to download 6mb of content for every second of the 168-hour week, that should be their right and if the Comcast network cannot support that, it should build a bigger network or stop advertising the service.
Yes, I know the ISPs add fine-print to the contracts that absolve them from actually providing what they advertise. The big-print speeds are only “maximum potential speeds” and “actual speeds may vary.” Legally, I’m sure that’s just fine, but to shout “We provide X” and then whisper “Actually, we don’t provide X” should be considered fraud.
If the AP story is correct, then the Federal Trade Commission should drop the hammer on Comcast and every other ISP that uses such deceptive practices. And if the federal government won’t act then some ambitious lawyers will doubtless jump in to fill the breech.
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