shouting loudly

In Comcast’s new Terms of Service, the company explicitly admits that it degrades peer-to-peer traffic as a means of reducing their network load. The company also admits that they will kick off end users who use (what they determine to be) too much bandwidth: The Service is for personal and non-commercial residential use only. Therefore, [...]

ArsTechnica has an excellent summary of the eloquent, biting critiques of Comcast being aired in an FCC proceeding. End users with an exceptional understanding of the underlying technology provide pretty damning evidence that the broadband service provider is deliberately degrading certain kinds of internet traffic.

Two quick links (both on Wetmachine) here on the FCC’s 700 MHz spectrum auction. First, Harold Feld has another great bit of analysis on why Google is bidding to win, though it’s not nearly as in-depth as his Great Google Prophecy last month. Second, Greg Rose has an outstanding critique of the media’s premature 700 [...]

Robert Reich’s latest book, Supercapitalism, is a fantastic analysis of the current relationship between corporations, citizens, and politics. I put Supercapitalism on my wish list after Prof. Lawrence Lessig’s glowing recommendation. While I make no pretense of being such a gifted writer as either of these scholars, here I attempt to summarize the book and [...]

While the process will drag through late February or early March, today marks the kickoff of the FCC’s auction of the 700 MHz spectrum, in which TV channels 50-69 will be sold to the highest bidders in four blocks. For background on the process, see the Public Knowledge page on spectrum reform. As always, Harold [...]

David Isenberg has a great post on why Time Warner’s bandwidth-sensitive pricing plan is good. The very short version is that it’s honest and a reasonable substitute for non-neutral packet discrimination, but the details will matter tremendously. (Isen.blog link via Berkman Buzz) UPDATE: I failed to mention the important caveat that bandwidth-sensitive pricing will not [...]

Many folks have wondered how serious Google is about winning a slice of the 700 MHz spectrum in the upcoming auction. Harold Feld answers this for us in the best blog post ever. Specifically, they’re bent on destroying the current business model of the mobile industry and preserving the last vestiges of an open internet. [...]

In my last report on this story, I put little thought into a minilink to an article by CNet’s Anne Broache, which frets that proposed net neutrality bills probably would not prevent Comcast’s ongoing peer-to-peer blockade. I no longer agree; I think even the weaker of the two bills on this count, if properly enforced [...]

CNet describes Google’s announcement that it will bid on 700 MHz spectrum as “Google versus the telecoms.”

Internet users in France who use their connections to violate copyright law may lose their connections under a new policy announced this week. In a three-way deal between internet service providers, the French government, and copyright holders, those accused of infringement will receive warnings from their ISPs. If they are identified as continuing to download [...]