The Federal Communications Commission is a step closer to punishing cable TV giant Comcast for blocking some subscribers' Internet traffic. The agency's commissioners are due to discuss this issue at an FCC meeting this Friday, but three commissioners reportedly already have voted in favor of punishing the service provider, so the agency apparently already has the majority it needs to do so.
It is still unclear whether or not Comcast will be fined for the breach of the FCC's Net neutrality policy. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has said before that there will be no fine, but it is not clear what other kind of punishment may be involved. Martin did say that Comcast will be required "to stop its practice of blocking; provide details to the commission on the extent and manner in which the practice has been used; and to disclose to consumers details on future plans for managing its network going forward," according to an Associated Press story.
Comcast response so far? It still insists its network management practices are "reasonable," a direct allusion to the FCC's policy terminology. Will the FCC's action help to further drive Net Neutrality legislation forward?
For more:
- check out this coverage [1] by the Associated Press
Related articles:
Here's a bunch more Net neutrality news: Net neutrality report [2]
Traffic management controversies may lead to metered usage. Traffic management report
[3]
Links:
[1] http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5huAOgy6g1S5wW-7ft0FRuIypdzLQD925CH7G2
[2] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/tags/net-neutrality
[3] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/twc-tests-metered-internet-comcast-tests-traffic-management-solution/2008-06-04