FCC probes Comcast's phone practices
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - January 20, 2009 In a letter to Comcast on Sunday, the FCC asked Comcast to
justify this "disparate treatment."
Philadelphia-based Comcast said it is reviewing the FCC's
letter. It has until Jan. 30 to respond.
Comcast last year changed the way it handles Internet traffic
after the FCC cracked down on its practice of delaying peer-to-peer
file sharing, an issue that outraged supporters of "network
neutrality," which is the idea that Internet service providers
should not give certain types of online data better treatment than
others. Now, Comcast is slowing down traffic for heavy users if
there is Internet congestion in their area, regardless of what type
of data they are consuming.
Comcast indicated in a regulatory filing that an Internet phone
call placed when the network is congested could sound "choppy."
But the FCC noted that Comcast's Web site says that its own phone
service is routed over a separate network instead of the public
Internet and won't be affected by its new network management
practices.
The FCC said that if Comcast isn't routing calls over its
broadband network, the phone service could be classified as a
telecommunications service subject to regulation and intercarrier
fees that phone companies currently pay.
Ben Scott, policy director of consumer advocacy group Free
Press, said his group is pleased that the FCC's past sanction on
Comcast over its network management practices wasn't a
"one-and-done action."
Comcast must submit a response by Jan. 30.
Shares of Comcast fell 71 cents, or nearly 4.6 percent, to
$14.62 in midday trading.
