Comments on: Congressman to Comcast: Stop interfering with BitTorrent

In interview with CNET, Rep. Rick Boucher becomes the first U.S. politician to take a public stance against cable giant's blocking of BitTorrent file sharing.

[Leria]

Just one problem with Mr. Harper position

Comcast is the only high-speed internet provider in my areas. In Aberdeen, Maryland, where I live they are the only game in town for high speed internet.

The reason people are not 'voting with their feet' is that they are trapped on a desert island with nowhere else to go for high-speed internet service.

[virat1208]

Totally with you...and Comcast SUCKS!!!

If I could vote with my feet, I would have ditched Comcast a long time ago. Their service is HORRIBLE, and that's an understatement. But there is no other provider in my area. I have lived in a few different cities and everywhere the situation is the same. BTW, why is that? - seems to me the companies have divvied up the service areas among themselves. This is totally uncompetitive and action must be taken against the ISP companies.

[bumbledor]

Actually I do have a choice for the same price. Sprint PCS high speed internet, but I have to sign up for 2 years, and I don't like that option. And, I do not think I can run a router with it, for the desktop and lap top. And laptop takes a special card.

IF it comes down to it, I will go with sprint. but as a sprint phone customer for over 20 years, I can tell you they too have their problems.

[Blisshead]

Vote with your feet?

So I have an 8mb option with comcast, a 3mb (ha) dsl option with Verizon for 95% of the price, and no other broadband options. How, since I use this connection for work as well as games and legit BT, should I exactly vote with my feet?

I say open it up, competition is good. there is little to none right now, and suggesting we just "change ISP's" is inane .

[mnecklen]

No need for Fiber to the house in near future

Fiber to house = $$$$$
Look up DOCSIS v3.
Current cable infrastructure is able to handle increased speeds to the house.
Obviously the cable node(s) need some hardware upgrades.
See below.

DOCSIS v2
Downstream Upstream
42.88 (38) Mbit/s 30.72 (27) Mbit/s

DOCSIS v3
Downstream Upstream
+171.52 (+152) Mbit/s +122.88 (+108) Mbit/s

[MaxB312]

Comcast Isn't the Only Ones

We shouldn't forget that managing the network is a necessity and Comcast isn't the only one that does it. Here's a post from GigaOm which shows that all ISP's manage their networks similarly:

http://gigaom.com/2007/10/25/why-shaping-traffic-isnt-just-a-comcast-issue/

[qwerty75]

Short sighted and ignorant

Declan's article was the typical BS expected from him.

Just wait for the whining when bit torrent is not throttled and real time apps like VOIP and VOD gown down in flames.

[rnieves1977]

Just Spend More of Comcasts Money

Just call support every single time your bit torrent is slow. Pretend like your going through the motions with tech support. They log the types of calls they get. If they get a million people calling and complaining about their connection issue it will start hitting thier pockets. Live tech support is expensive and it'll eventually outway the costs of just opening up the connection. I work from home and for some reason everyday for the longest time from 3:00-5:00PM I was throttled down to 128kbps, mind you i'm paying for 12mbps, so I started calling everyday at 3:00 and after about two weeks the throttling stopped.

[zanzzz]

Competition = Myth

What is Jim Harper smoking over there at the Cato Institute? "Market-based solutions" only have a chance to work if there is some semblance of competition. I live in a major metropolitan area yet have only one "choice" for broadband. That is far too common. Many areas of the country have a duopoly of choice that is hardly an illustration of competition. I'm tired of hearing from industry apologists explaining that no legislation is needed, the wonders of competition will correct abuses.
Harper obviously doesn't understanding how bitTorrent works. By preventing upload sharing a torrent is not sustainable. Skeptically wondering why customers don't "vote with their feet" is another illustration of his profound ignorance. Comcast is hardly the only ISP hostile to file sharing. Besides, how are disgruntled consumers in the clutches of a monopoly to "vote with their feet?" Is the Cato Institute a facility for the mentally challenged?

[danny.geo]

"Net neutrality" = "consumer choice"

I think ?net neutrality? should be respun as ?consumer choice.? As of today, there is no real choice.

With that in mind, I think Jim Harper needs to reconsider this quote:
"If customers don't care enough to vote with their feet" he asked, "then how important is it, anyway?"

Customers care. The problem is that there just isn't another real option for most customers. When real choice comes, maybe then would Harper's comment ring true.

Comcast and other cable companies have monopolies, meaning they can raise their prices any time they want (and they do). The only time it can't controls prices at its whim and fancy is with an overbuild area, which barely exist.

When will its misbehavior begin conversations about breaking it up like AT&T once was? Because if it continues to mistreat its customers and slows innovation in the telecommunications market, it will one day end up on the chopping room floor.

I?m hoping that municipalities and municipal utilities start laying thick fiber like they do sewers, water lines, and roads. Then any company can trip over themselves to provide real and good service to me.

[OmegaWolf747]

A rarity indeed

A politician who puts the rights of the common people over the profits of a big company. Props to Boucher for remembering his obligation to the voting public instead of the big business.

[bumbledor]

Its not just the Bit Torrent thats being interfered with.
Online games such as Call of Duty or anything using punk buster is also being interfered with. Getting constant C.I.'s or Connection intruptions. Exactly what they say is happening to bit torrent. And dang it, I paid good money for both my internet and my Call of Duty game, and now I can't play it because com-sucks is screwing people over again.

They have a monoply in the area, can't get anyone else.

All this crud for 60 a month?!! Talk about breach of contract.. SO, when's the class action suit going to start?

[daniel9696]

It already has. Google "hart v comcast"

[fuzzywzhe]

What has the government got involved with that they didn't ruin?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ruined the housing market by allowing unpayable loans to be taken out en masse. The Federal government got into education, none of you have read a 6th grade math book from 1910 - further, why aren't public education books PUBLIC without copyright so anybody can get access to PUBLIC education?

If the Federal government starts dictating terms, they will dictate them in their favor. It is better to vote with your feet than it is to get a corrupt government, the same government that lied us into Iraq, the same government that let Haliburton steal trillions of dollars, the same government that is giving out 100s of billions of dollars to criminals that should be in jail for bailouts, to dictate terms. We have an AWFUL GOVERNMENT, think twice before you get them to determine what you can and cannot see on the Internet, which is exactly what they will do.