Items tagged with Comcast
On Thursday Comcast announced a 250 GB cap for their broadband service. We applauded the fact that they finally gave some transparency to their "hidden" cap, which had always snagged a few users, without telling them exactly how much their use should be, but then we realized: where's the...
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How many of you are aware of the 5 GB cap that Frontier DSL has imposed? Or of the trials in Beaumont, TX that Time-Warner Cable is running? It's only a matter of time before others impose caps. And here we are, with a big ISP imposing a cap. But really, let's be honest: this ISP already had one, just one that was hidden.Today...
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It certainly wouldn't be a deal-breaker (or maker) to us, but if you still can't get a Nintendo Wii (and annoyingly, it's still in short supply), and you're interested in signing your life away for two years to Comcast, this could be the deal for you.On Monday, hot on the heels of the...
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This week marks the beginning of Comcast's month-long experiment with protocol-agnostic network management practices in Chambersburg, PA and Warrenton, VA. Comcast has come under fire recently for throttling certain types of traffic on its network, such as with data for P2P clients. This alternative approach focuses purely on how much bandwidth...
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Move over Microsoft; Comcast is taking over the role as being perceived as the next "evil empire." Just ask hackers, Defiant and EBK, who managed to take over Comcast's Web portal for over five hours Wednesday night and into Thursday morning: Thursday, the pair were dealing with their newfound...
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Comcast customers are still waiting for the nation’s largest broadband provider to make good on their promise to stop throttling BitTorrent traffic according to a recent survey:The Max Planck Institute tested the connections of 788 Comcast customers, 494 (62%) experienced a slowdown of BitTorrent traffic. Comcast is not alone though, well...
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Reuters reports that the second-largest U.S. ISP, Comcast, has agreed to acquire online address book and social networking site Plaxo for somewhere between $145 million and $175 million. "Comcast will use Plaxo to offer social network links across Comcast-connected devices from TVs to digital video recorders to, eventually, wireless devices,...
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Comcast has taken a lot of heat for limiting their customer's P2P traffic based on vague references to traffic overload concerns. They confused and angered many of their customers by offering "unlimited" bandwith that was limited, and added a bit of insult to injury by never revealing what the...
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As the debate for net neutrality still rages, the FCC continues its hearings into Comcast’s throttling of P2P traffic: "FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, testifying before a Senate committee, said Comcast's blocking of BitTorrent P-to-P (peer-to-peer) traffic appeared to happen when there wasn't network congestion, in contrast to claims from the...
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After reversing their stance on BitTorrent, Comcast has announced plans to offer their 50Mb/sec broadband in all existing markets by 2010. What would people use the extra bandwidth for? Digital distribution of movies and music seems a likely candidate and BitTorrent seems like it is going to be a key player in that arena. So how fast is a...
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Ah yes, the good news is they are collaborating. The bad news is ... wait for it ... The deal comes as BitTorrent, which became known for developing software technology widely used to illegally share files, is trying to reinvent itself. The companies are in talks to collaborate on ways to run BitTorrent's technology more smoothly on Comcast's...
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You've probably heard that Comcast is throttling P2P downloads, and that the FCC was interested enough to hold a hearing yesterday. At that hearing, 2 Internet pioneers gave Comcast a piece of their minds.David Reed, an MIT professor who's considered to be an Internet engineering pioneer, said Comcast's behavior makes him especially...
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Comcast has drawn a lot of attention to itself since it decided to throttle BitTorrent traffic, and most of it negative. Customers complained to anyone who would listen, and one of those was the FCC and another may just be House Internet Subcommittee Chair, (D) Rep. Ed Markey:“This time, the Federal Communications Commission will depart...
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When Comcast began throttling BitTorrent traffic last year, they initially claimed it was an anti-piracy measure, but it's starting to look as if there might have been an ulterior motive for the throttling; keeping legitimate online video services away from their customer base.“While the BitTorrent protocol has long been used for piratical...
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It appears that disgruntled consumers and consumer rights groups aren't the only ones upset with Comcast:“Describing Comcast's management and board supervision as a "Comcastrophe" _ playing off its advertising tagline of "Comcastic" _ Chieftain Capital Management Inc. in New York wants better shareholder returns from the cable company.”Chieftan...
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The ongoing battle between pirates and copyright holders is gaining a new dimension: ISPs doing network-level filtering."Network-level filtering means your Internet service provider – Comcast, AT&T, EarthLink, or whoever you send that monthly check to – could soon start sniffing your...
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Comcast-related news hasn't been positive lately, at least from a user's standpoint, as Comcast has been proven to be blocking P2P communications. Even the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has weighed in on that one. This week at the CableNEXT conference, some positive news: Comcast Chief...
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In the wake of Comcast's recent decision to start throttling end-user P2P traffic consumer groups have decided to take their complaint straight to the top. By 'the top' we don't mean the supreme court, but the FCC. We can't help but wonder why nobody's taken Comcast to the FCC over their disconnecting users who use 'too much' of...
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We recently reported that Comcast has been accused of throttling BitTorrent traffic. Initially Comcast denied that it was doing anything to throttle BitTorrent traffic, but later revised its stance to indicate that their TOS gives them the right and obligation to make sure that the Comcast network isn't being used to traffic in illicit...
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In recent months Comcast has been accused of blocking BitTorrent traffic on more than one occasion and the company has even gone so far as to cut customers off who use an 'excessive' amount of their 'unlimited' bandwidth.On one side of the recently drawn battle lines are the customers who are...
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In a move that runs counter to the very concept of Net Neutrality - that all data is treated the same - the Associated Press has found, and confirmed with tests, that Comcast blocks attempts by users to share files online.The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data...
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The good thing about this is our contract with DirecTV does not end for months. This delay means we might still be able to sign up for a roll-out, if it ever happens --- and if it ever happens in our area.Comcast's seemingly never-ending delays in getting TiVo service to its customers continued Tuesday, as the company admitted it was...
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