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December 2, 2008 4:00:46 AM CST


net neutrality

net neutrality news stories

19 Stories

analysis

Comcast Web Caps May Signal End of an Era

Though limits affect only 1% now, high-def video will change that

(Newser) - With Comcast setting a limit on Internet usage beginning next month, the end of the Internet as we know it may be at hand, as ISPs move toward usage-based models like public utilities. Comcast, the second-largest US Internet provider, was careful to say that the bandwidth limit is so high—250 gigabytes per month—it won't affect 99% of customers. But "today's bandwidth hog is tomorrow's average user," one critic tells ABC. More »

More about:  Internet Comcast telecom industry net neutrality Internet service providers bandwidth usage Time Warner Cable

Opinion

FCC Member: Leave the Internet Alone

Engineers, not politicians, should solve tech problems

(Newser) - The latest crisis for the internet is the gridlock caused by bandwidth-clogging P2P software. But don’t worry, says FCC commissioner Robert McDowell. This has happened before. As far back as 1987, engineers have been solving the net’s bandwidth problems. It’s been a triumph of anti-regulation, and there’s no reason for the government to get involved now, he writes in the Washington Post. More »

More about:  Internet FCC regulation net neutrality bandwidth P2P

Comcast Bends Under Net Neutrality Pressure

Promises new system for managing network, probably by end of year

(Newser) - Comcast is changing the way it manages Internet traffic after an intense public and FCC outcry over its blocking traffic from BitTorrent users. To cut use during peak hours, the Internet provider will stop targeting specific applications and instead slow its highest-bandwidth users’ traffic, reports the New York Times . Still, the FCC promised to continue scrutinizing the company. More »

More about:  Internet FCC Comcast net neutrality ISP bandwidth usage

Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads

Prioritizing data
could be more
efficient, experts say

(Newser) - The principle of net neutrality can be taken too far, some experts say. The internet could be made much more efficient—and downloads faster—if network managers were allowed to use info about the content they're sending, a Princeton engineering professor tells Technology Review. That would allow them to prioritize what should be rushed and what can wait. More »

More about:  FCC Comcast net neutrality

Apple's iPhone Rules Restrict Competition

Banning of VoIP, browser bundling echoes antitrust cases

(Newser) - Apple’s iPhone software development kit is facing criticism from net neutrality and antitrust critics, Computerworld reports. Apple has indicated that voice-over-IP programs like Skype will not be allowed on the iPhone’s AT&T network, as its a direct competitor for AT&T’s voice service. Comcast, Computerworld points out, drew net neutrality concerns when it banned BitTorrent to prevent competition with its Cable TV business. More »

More about:  Microsoft Apple iPhone Comcast antitrust Firefox net neutrality Skype Safari Voice over IP

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing

Cable and ISP giant accused of hiring seatfillers to silence critics

(Newser) - The future direction of the Internet could be at stake in the FCC's decisions on net neutrality, but one of the ISPs concerned did its best to keep opponents out of a hearing on it, Portfolio.com reports. Advocacy group and fierce Comcast critic Free Press says the firm hired people off the street to fill seats at a Cambridge, Mass., hearing into the ISP's competition-stifling practices. Many of the seatfillers snoozed through the meeting. More »

More about:  FCC Comcast net neutrality ISP

FCC Ready
to Defend
Net Neutrality

Agency says it will
step in to stop ISPs from blocking access

(Newser) - FCC boss Kevin Martin told a hearing yesterday that the government was "ready, willing, and able to step in" to stop Internet service providers from restricting traffic sent by rivals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast is accused of acting improperly by slowing or blocking access to file-sharing sites. The cable giant says it is merely managing its network. More »

More about:  Internet FCC Comcast file sharing broadband Internet Kevin Martin net neutrality ISP Internet access

What Do the Candidates Say About Tech?

PC magazine examines positions on access, neutrality, privacy

(Newser) - We may know where they stand on Iraq, but what about technology? Among presidential candidates, the Democrats generally have discussed broadband access, Net neutrality, privacy/security, and innovation more than the Republicans, and both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have clear positions on all four. Among Republicans, John McCain and Ron Paul have addressed more issues than either Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee. More »

More about:  Election 2008 technology privacy presidential candidates net neutrality

Canadian ISP Messes With Web Pages

Net neutrality's biggest boogeyman gets a test drive

(Newser) - Imagine for a second that your Internet provider could alter any webpage you viewed – injecting advertisements, or even censoring information. That scary scenario is possible, Ars Technica says, and the technology is already being test-driven by Rogers, a Canadian cable giant. Right now, the messages are just service notifications, but the software, developed by a marketing firm, could display anything. More »

More about:  Canada Comcast net neutrality web traffic ISP packet filtering

FCC Asked
to Stop Text Censoring

Net neutrality advocates object to providers blocking messages

(Newser) - Consumer groups have banded together to lobby the FCC to prevent cellphone companies from blocking text messages, the Washington Post reports. The issue of carriers censoring messages from political groups and competing services has become the latest front in the net neutrality campaign. Consumers Union and other advocates are insisting that providers should deliver texts regardless of content. More »

More about:  FCC censorship telecommunications text messaging net neutrality texting Naral

Meet Prof Who
Gave Google
Its Big Ideas

Tim Wu pioneered net neutrality, inspired new smartphone initiative

(Newser) - Google’s newly revealed Open Handset Alliance, which gives smartphone developers and consumers new freedom to match phones, carriers, and apps, found inspiration in the philosophy of cyberlaw trailblazer Tim Wu. The Columbia Law professor is on the vanguard of the net-neutrality conversation, arguing that Internet providers and wireless networks should act like neutral public utilities, barred from prioritizing or denying access, BusinessWeek reports. More »

More about:  Google net neutrality wireless service Open Handset Alliance

FCC Put to Test Over Net Neutrality

Consumer groups lodge complaint against Comcast file sharing interference

(Newser) - Consumer groups and legal scholars filed a complaint with the FCC today asking the agency to fine Comcast for interfering with subscribers' file transfers. The case will be the first major indication of the FCC's actual stance on Net Neutrality. The petitions call on the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 for every affect subscriber, the Associated Press reports. More »

More about:  FCC Comcast net neutrality ISP Internet service providers BitTorrent

(Newser) - Cable and Internet service giant Comcast is disrupting more than just BitTorrent traffic, reports Ars Technica. Tests by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that Comcast customers using a growing list of apps may find their Net access slowed or denied. A Lotus Notes engineer, for example, discovered Notes emails sent with large attachments being dropped. More »

More about:  Comcast file sharing net neutrality BitTorrent P2P Electronic Frontier Foundation Public Knowledge Gnutella

Cable, Telcos Killing US
Web Success
Says Pundit

Sees broadband providers' Luddite attitudes stifling growth, innovation

(Newser) - Comcast’s recent disabling of big file uploads could lay waste to Silicon Valley’s media complex, says SiliconValleyWatcher’s Tom Foremski, injuring or killing Web 2.0 companies like YouTube or Facebook. Comcast's insistence that it isn’t contractually obligated to provide those companies’ services, he argues, is the kind of Luddite thinking that has long slowed technological progress in America. More »

More about:  Google Facebook YouTube cable TV Comcast telecommunications broadband Internet telecom net neutrality digital downloads BitTorrent web services

Comcast Blocks P2P File-Sharing

Company doesn't admit it, but AP tests show file-sharing deliberately slowed