After recently coming under fire for denying users neutral access to the internet via their service Comcast are now trying to cover their backs with a silent terms and conditions change.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080207-comcast-tweaks-terms-of-service-in-wake-of-throttling-uproar.htmlMonths after third parties were able to demonstrate that Comcast was throttling some BitTorrent (and Lotus Notes) traffic, the cable giant has quietly changed its terms of service. Comcast updated the ToS on January 25—the first update in two years, according to company spokesperson Charlie Douglas—to more explicitly spell out its policies on traffic management.
According to Section III of the revised ToS, Comcast "uses reasonable network management practices that are consistent with industry standards." The company points out that it is not alone in the practice, saying that "all major" ISPs engage in some form of traffic shaping.
Comcast has denied throttling BitTorrent traffic, saying that the ISP just "delays" or "postpones" it on occasion. One analogy used by a Comcast executive was that of trying to make a phone call and getting a busy signal for a time, until the call actually goes through. A more accurate explanation of Comcast's use of TCP reset packets, to build on the phone analogy, would be talking on the phone with someone and then both of you hearing the other's voice saying "hang up." That's the effect of the forged reset packets: convincing the BitTorrent clients that the other(s) have stopped responding
Lets hope the recently filed class action and the FCC enquiry make clear to comcast that just because they are allowing over-subcription on their network thats no excuse to block traffic and censor what services or applications folks can use.
