Comcast negotiating with the enemy, BitTorrent?
Comcast has been accused by BitTorrent users and the FCC of throttling bandwidth to the site, and in many cases blocking BitTorrent altogether. When confronted in a lawsuit by the FCC, Comcast admitted they were using hacker technology to throttle or block BitTorrent. In the middle of the skirmish, Comcast has suddenly done an about face and begun to negotiate with BitTorrent on bandwidth.
Why the sudden switch after months of flaunting the fact they were out to control what their users could and could not access online? Part of the reason behind the change in tactic is that BitTorrent users make up over 50 percent of Comcast’s customer base. That’s a hefty number.
Even more pressing than that in making the switch make sense is Comcast’s planned capacity management system, expected early next year. That’s right, Comcast is following in the footsteps of other companies, like Time Warner, who have taken steps to shaft their loyal users with bandwidth caps and even more expansive plans that charge customers an arm and a leg to do business or play online.
By all accounts BitTorrent seems to be in favor of cooperating, which makes no sense. When you are winning the war (the FCC had already begun to come down in favor of Bittorrent’s side of the argument) why surrender? Whether it makes sense or not, the rumor is that Bittorrent will be agreeing to limited throttling during “peak times”, whatever that means.
At present this is all just hearsay. Both companies have confirmed that they are in negotiations to reach a bandwidth usage agreement, but they have yet to confirm any details on either side about how the agreement may work. the main issue now is how much will BitTorrent and Comcast’s cozy little fireside chat cost the customer?
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