Comcast, a national broadband provider, was repeatedly criticized for slowing down BitTorrent traffic by means of packet shaping. Recently, they agreed to lift throttles placed on all users who download Torrents and only limit access to users who consume the most bandwidth. This is not just a step for downloaders, but a step to defend Net Neutrality.
Kudos, Comcast!
I find this is a much more reasonable network management policy, and has received a lot of support from the Torrent community. Additionally, this is a great way that Comcast can possibly monetize legalized downloads from BitTorrent Inc for subscribers. Personally, I wouldn’t mind paying $5 more monthly for unlimited access to BitTorrent’s archive, assuming top-notch speeds.
Comcasters! Please try downloading some Torrents and confirm if you can indeed download at “normal” speed.
UPDATE 4/1 — As stated in the comments, Torrent download speeds are up and working well for Comcast users. This was from a user with the *.az.comcast.net hostname.
Yeah, I downloaded some uh… linux distros… and got pretty good speeds.
Junkyard Willie
March 31st, 2008
Thanks, JW!
Glad to hear that torrents are working for Comcast users, just as noted in a press release.
~Joe
Joe
April 1st, 2008
This is part of something else still in the works. If anyone thinks that Comcast would ever do anything for the benefit of its customers, they need to share some of whatever they’re smoking with me. I want to go to that magic world too.
The only thing Comcast has ever or will ever care about is overselling bandwidth to grandmothers who only ever check their email once a month.
My guess is that this is part of some sort of pre-emptive strategy to corner some stupid segment of the market for digital distribution or HD streaming.
Junkyard Willie
April 2nd, 2008
[...] Joe wrote an interesting post today on Comcast Partners with BitTorrent Inc., Lifting ThrottlesHere’s a quick excerptComcast, a national broadband provider, was repeatedly criticized for slowing down BitTorrent traffic by means of packet shaping. Recently, they agreed to lift throttles placed on all users who download Torrents and only limit access to … [...]
Bittorrent » Comcast Partners with BitTorrent Inc., Lifting Throttles
April 4th, 2008
[...] larger geographic regions. If you recall, Comcast attempted to scurry around federal regulators by lifting the throttles and will be partnering with BitTorrent [...]
FCC: ‘Comcast Blocked Torrent Traffic Outside of Peak Usage’
April 22nd, 2008
Well, I can say FOR A FACT they are still throttling (or throttling again). I have about 6 torrents running, and all are @ 100%. While downloading there is no problem connecting to other to upload packets. But as soon as you finish ALL uploads connects start resetting nearly instantly, essentially STOPPING all uploading EXCEPT within the Comcast network.
Example, as stated I have about 6 torrents running, and between them they have about 20 leeches, I only connect to them for a split sec. then they’re gone. A little bit ago my upload went to max I went to the torrent and grabbed the users IP and ran it and they are ofcourse a COMCAST user, the only user out of about 20 that I can upload to for more than a millisecond. HUMMMMMM
Vamps
September 21st, 2008