NEW
YORK (AP) - Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of
its high- speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that
runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic
equally. The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed
through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data
discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company
computers masquerading as those of its users. If widely
applied by other ISPs, the technology Comcast is using would be a
crippling blow to the BitTorrent, eDonkey and Gnutella file- sharing
networks. While these are mainly known as sources of copyright music,
software and movies, BitTorrent in particular is emerging as a
legitimate tool for quickly disseminating legal content. The
principle of equal treatment of traffic, called "Net Neutrality" by
proponents, is not enshrined in law but supported by some regulations.
Most of the debate around the issue has centered on tentative plans,
now postponed, by large Internet carriers to offer preferential
treatment of traffic from certain content providers for a fee.
Comcast's interference, on the other hand, appears to be an aggressive
way of managing its network to keep file-sharing traffic from
swallowing too much bandwidth and affecting the Internet speeds of
other subscribers. Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV
operator and No. 2 Internet provider, would not specifically address
the practice, but spokesman Charlie Douglas confirmed that it uses
sophisticated methods to keep Net connections running smoothly. "Comcast does not block access to any applications, including BitTorrent," he said.
Douglas would not specify what the company means by "access"—Comcast
subscribers can download BitTorrent files without hindrance. Only
uploads of complete files are blocked or delayed by the company, as
indicated by AP tests. But with "peer-to-peer" technology,
users exchange files with each other, and one person's upload is
another's download. That means Comcast's blocking of certain uploads
has repercussions in the global network of file sharers.
Comcast's technology kicks in, though not consistently, when one
BitTorrent user attempts to share a complete file with another user.
Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes
from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither
message originated from the other computer—it comes from Comcast. If it
were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking
into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other:
"Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye." Matthew Elvey, a Comcast
subscriber in the San Francisco area who has noticed BitTorrent uploads
being stifled, acknowledged that the company has the right to manage
its network, but disapproves of the method, saying it appears to be
deceptive. "There's the wrong way of going about that and the right way," said Elvey, who is a computer consultant.
Comcast's interference affects all types of content, meaning that, for
instance, an independent movie producer who wanted to distribute his
work using BitTorrent and his Comcast connection could find that
difficult or impossible—as would someone pirating music.
Internet service providers have long complained about the vast amounts
of traffic generated by a small number of subscribers who are avid
users of file-sharing programs. Peer-to-peer applications account for
between 50 percent and 90 percent of overall Internet traffic,
according to a survey this year by ipoque GmbH, a German vendor of
traffic-management equipment. "We have a responsibility to
manage our network to ensure all our customers have the best broadband
experience possible," Douglas said. "This means we use the latest
technologies to manage our network to provide a quality experience for
all Comcast subscribers." The practice of managing the flow of
Internet data is known as "traffic shaping," and is already widespread
among Internet service providers. It usually involves slowing down some
forms of traffic, like file-sharing, while giving others priority.
Other ISPs have attempted to block some file-sharing application by
so-called "port filtering," but that method is easily circumvented and
now largely ineffective. Comcast's approach to traffic shaping
is different because of the drastic effect it has on one type of
traffic—in some cases blocking it rather than slowing it down—and the
method used, which is difficult to circumvent and involves the company
falsifying network traffic. The "Net Neutrality" debate
erupted in 2005, when AT&T Inc. suggested it would like to charge
some Web companies more for preferential treatment of their traffic.
Consumer advocates and Web heavyweights like Google Inc. and Amazon
Inc. cried foul, saying it's a bedrock principle of the Internet that
all traffic be treated equally. To get its acquisition of
BellSouth Corp. approved by the Federal Communications Commission,
AT&T agreed in late 2006 not to implement such plans or prioritize
traffic based on its origin for two and a half years. However, it did
not make any commitments not to prioritize traffic based on its type,
which is what Comcast is doing. The FCC's stance on traffic
shaping is not clear. A 2005 policy statement says that "consumers are
entitled to run applications and services of their choice," but that
principle is "subject to reasonable network management." Spokeswoman
Mary Diamond would not elaborate. Free Press, a
Washington-based public interest group that advocates Net Neutrality,
opposes the kind of filtering applied by Comcast. "We don't
believe that any Internet provider should be able to discriminate,
block or impair their consumers ability to send or receive legal
content over the Internet," said Free Press spokeswoman Jen Howard.
Paul "Tony" Watson, a network security engineer at Google Inc. who has
previously studied ways hackers could disrupt Internet traffic in
manner similar to the method Comcast is using, said the cable company
was probably acting within its legal rights. "It's their
network and they can do what they want," said Watson. "My concern is
the precedent. In the past, when people got an ISP connection, they
were getting a connection to the Internet. The only determination was
price and bandwidth. Now they're going to have to make much more
complicated decisions such as price, bandwidth, and what services I can
get over the Internet." Several companies have sprung up that
rely on peer-to-peer technology, including BitTorrent Inc., founded by
the creator of the BitTorrent software (which exists in several
versions freely distributed by different groups and companies).
Ashwin Navin, the company's president and co-founder, confirmed that it
has noticed interference from Comcast, in addition to some Canadian
Internet service providers. "They're using sophisticated
technology to degrade service, which probably costs them a lot of
money. It would be better to see them use that money to improve
service," Navin said, noting that BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer
applications are a major reason consumers sign up for broadband.
BitTorrent Inc. announced Oct. 9 that it was teaming up with online
video companies to use its technology to distribute legal content.
Other companies that rely on peer-to-peer technology, and could be
affected if Comcast decides to expand the range of applications it
filters, include Internet TV service Joost, eBay Inc.'s Skype video-
conferencing program and movie download appliance Vudu. There is no
sign that Comcast is hampering those services. Comcast
subscriber Robb Topolski, a former software quality engineer at Intel
Corp., started noticing the interference when trying to upload with
file-sharing programs Gnutella and eDonkey early this year. In
August, Topolski began to see reports on Internet forum DSLreports.com
from other Comcast users with the same problem. He now believes that
his home town of Hillsboro, Ore., was a test market for the technology
that was later widely applied in other Comcast service areas.
Topolski agrees that Comcast has a right to manage its network and slow
down traffic that affects other subscribers, but disapproves of their
method. "By Comcast not acknowledging that they do this at all, there's no way to report any problems with it," Topolski said. ___ Associated Press Writers Ron Harris, Brian Bergstein, Deborah Yao and Kathy Matheson contributed to this story. ___ On the Net: http://www.comcast.com http://www.bittorrent.com http://www.sandvine.com Copyright
2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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