Comcast has acknowledged that it is now delaying some of the Internet traffic from its customers who download a lot of video, music or other large files.
Comcast says the delays are necessary to keep its network from grinding to a halt, but consumer groups are charging that Comcast shouldn’t have the right to limit user access to the Internet.
I don’t think consumers are ultimately going to be able to force Comcast and other ISPs to back down from this stance. But I think Google and Apple and Microsoft will.
Right now, Comcast says it is mostly throttling access to peer-to-peer networks like Bit Torrent.
Bit Torrent is basically an amateur operation, though, with little to no advertising or lobbying power.
But what happens when users of Apple’s expanding Apple TV service or YouTube viewers or Xbox 360 owners downloading movies and shows via Xbox Live find their access delayed?
Do you think those companies, with billions of dollars on the line and plenty of Washington lobbyist muscle, might able to knock some heads?
Yeah, me too.
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