The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally published its decision ruling that Comcast was not using reasonable network management techniques in its handling of peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, accusing Comcast of trying to hamper the sharing of films via P2P in order to protect its video-on-demand (VOD) business.
By a 3-2 vote of FCC commissioners, Comcast was given 30 days to disclose the details fully of its network management practices, and to submit a plan describing how it intends to comply with the FCC’s network neutrality guidelines by the end of the year.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin continued to justify the moves by using the analogy of having the Post Office “opening your mail.”
The analogy is, of course, so faulty it raises suspicion of disingenuousness. The question is: How would people like it if they paid for overnight delivery, but then some other government agency disallowed the Post Office from prioritizing what gets delivered?
Commissioners Deborah Tate and Robert McDowell dissented, on general anti-regulatory grounds.
The vast bulk of the decision – dozens of pages – were dedicated to reiterating the Commission’s authority to make the decision at all, something that Comcast disputes.
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