[Corp. Watch] Why corporate control of the Internet is dangerous

[Corporation Watch]

FCC Questions Comcast's Treatment of Competing VoIP

by Grant Gross

(IDG News Service, Jan. 20) -- Officials at the U.S. Federal  
Communications Commission (FCC) have questioned why Comcast, the  
largest provider of cable-modem broadband service in the U.S., exempts  
its own "voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP, i.e., Internet telephone  
service) from traffic congestion slowdowns, but doesn't offer the same  
protections to competing VoIP services running over its network.

"We … ask that you provide a detailed justification for Comcast's  
disparate treatment of its own VoIP service as compared to that  
offered by other VoIP providers on its network," two high-level FCC  
staffers wrote in a Sunday letter to Comcast.

	The letter comes about five months after the FCC ruled that Comcast  
had violated Internet neutrality policies in slowing some peer-to-peer  
(file-sharing) traffic.

	Comcast, in Sept. 19 documents explaining a new network-management  
plan to the FCC, said VoIP service could sound "choppy" during times  
of heavy network congestion. The September Comcast filing did not  
distinguish between Comcast's VoIP service and competing ones, the FCC  
letter says.

	"Comcast's website, however, suggests that such a distinction does in  
fact exist," says the FCC letter. "The website claims that 'Comcast  
Digital Voice is a separate facilities-based IP phone service that is  
not affected by this [new network traffic-management] technique.'"

	The Sunday FCC letter suggests Comcast was playing down its VoIP  
network management techniques. "We request that Comcast explain why it  
omitted from its filings with the Commission the distinct effects that  
Comcast's new network management technique has on Comcast's VoIP  
offering versus those of its competitors," the letter says.

	Comcast's new network management plan was required by the FCC after  
commissioners ruled in August that the broadband provider's decision  
to slow some peer-to-peer traffic violated the agency's network  
neutrality rules prohibiting broadband providers from blocking or  
slowing Internet traffic or applications.

	Comcast has appealed the FCC decision, saying the agency didn't have  
authority to enforce an Internet-neutrality policy statement or to  
dictate network-management practices. But last March, Comcast  
announced it would move away from application-specific network  
management.

	News reports in late 2007 unveiled Comcast's practice of slowing some  
BitTorrent (peer-to-peer) traffic. Comcast later said it was slowing  
traffic only at times of peak congestion, but the FCC and other groups  
disputed that the traffic management was limited.

	A Comcast spokesman, asked if the company's treatment of competing  
VoIP service violated net-neutrality rules, said the broadband  
provider has "complied with the FCC's order regarding our congestion  
management practices."

	"We are reviewing the FCC staff's letter," added Sena Fitzmaurice,  
the Comcast spokeswoman.

	The FCC's letter suggests that if Comcast wants its VoIP service to  
be treated as a telecommunications service separate from its broadband  
service, the service should be subject to traditional telecom  
regulations, including a myriad of taxes.

	Free Press, a media reform group, praised the FCC for questioning  
Comcast about its VoIP network management techniques. In October, Free  
Press complained to the FCC that Comcast was treating its own VoIP  
differently than it was treating other VoIP services, without  
disclosing that information to the agency.

	"This letter is a positive sign that the FCC's Comcast decision was  
not a one-and-done action on Internet neutrality," said Ben Scott,  
Free Press' policy director. "An open Internet cannot tolerate  
arbitrary interference from ... service providers. Congress and the  
FCC must close any legal loopholes that permit anti-competitive  
behavior to thrive."