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Comcast, Pando Partner For "P2P Bill of Rights"
Bibek Paudel writes "Comcast on Tuesday announced that it would partner with Pando Networks to create a P2P bill of rights for file-sharing networks and Internet service providers. Comcast and Pando will meet with industry experts, other ISPs, and P2P companies in order to come up with a set of rules that would clarify how a user can use P2P applications and how an ISP can manage file-sharing programs running on their networks. Last month, Comcast announced that it had reached an agreement with BitTorrent whereby Comcast agreed to alter its network management practices, and BitTorrent acknowledged that Comcast has the right to police its own network. Comcast's battle with P2P networks started last year after the Associated Press published an article that accused Comcast of blocking peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent. Comcast admitted to delaying P2P traffic during peak times, but denied that any file-sharing applications were being completely blocked."
Users will use technology as they see fit. That is the ONLY thing everyone need know.
"Well, we've determined that information doesn't want to be free. Therefore, all BitTorrent or P2P traffic not sponsored by one of our esteemed peers will be allowed 100MB a month. Over that and your bill will go up."
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
Comcast admitted to delaying P2P traffic during peak times, but denied that any file-sharing applications were being completely blocked.
Except that was actually proven, and they even admitted to, is like standing outside someone's house patched into their main phone line and then randomly hanging up on people.
Time to watch this with as many eyes as we can get. Letting Comcrap do this is kind of like putting Mohammed, Lenin, Stalin, Che Guevara, Pol Pot, Adolf Hitler, and Chairman Mao in a room to write a declaration of human rights.
This isn't about the legality or otherwise of the content being transferred. P2P is not only used for "infringing" content, and Comcast isn't blocking or slowing it down because someone might be transferring something illegal. Your raising of the copyright infringement issue is a red herring. The real issue here is net neutrality.
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
I'm tired of hearing "bill of rights" applied in ridiculous situations by people or organizations who want to make it seem like they're being oppressed.
It seems to me that every meaningful phrase or term -anything that elicits a positive reaction in people- eventually gets co-opted by a political or corporate organization and turned into a complete farce. Sometimes it recovers, sometimes it doesn't.
When's the last time you heard the word "wholesome" in a BS-free situation?
If you remember, Bittorrent Inc made a similar deal with Comcast to protect their transfers. Now another P2P company peddling a proprietary solution has done the same.
Where does this leave non-commercial P2P on Comcast. Are we going to see a situation where proprietary P2P is whitelisted, while everything else is throttled? Is Comcast going to move towards a protocol agnostic, but vendor specific throttling strategy?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I'm all for a bill of rights. Among the enumerated rights should be:
Any p2p user shall have available to them a detailed and complete description of what network services their monthly fees entitle them to. This will include all of the usage limits which may trigger account suspension or termination.
This information is required for any p2p user to make an informed choice among broadband providers. I don't particularly care if they advertise "unlimited" service, but there needs to be an asterisk which points to how they define unlimited.
The solution is simple: get rid of your Comcast 'net service, just keep cable. Get FIOS from Verizon or even DSL.
Comcast is a publicly traded company and as such here's what's important to them.....
Making money for their stockholders.
That means stopping the things that zap their resources. I don't think anyone will disagree that BitTorrent does exactly that.
Comcast is going to do what is best in their corporate interest. Surprised? Don't be. It's business. Vote with something they DO understand, your monthly $$$
What bothers me so much about this is that it's a transparent attempt to head off Congress, with the results not being pro-consumer. Last month, Comcast announced that it had reached an agreement with BitTorrent whereby Comcast agreed to alter its network management practices, and BitTorrent acknowledged that Comcast has the right to police its own network. Two companies coming to an agreement does nothing to resolve issues of Net Neutrality, especially when the agreement explicitly seems to disavow Net Neutrality.
I'd much rather have legislation I can comment on, than self-regulation which is not open to the public.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
The chances of Comcast coming up with anything that users themselves will find the least bit palatable is next to nothing, but the fools in the media and government won't hear about that because they're too busy applauding how industry is clearly now ready to take the lead and solve the problems without government intervention.
Such a transparent attempt to kill Net Neutrality, when all we as user want is: It's our pipe. We pay for it. So let us decide how we want to utilize our paid-for bandwidth. And don't make it our problem that you have oversold your system capacity by hundreds of times!
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Hey, I'm sorry but BitTorrent doesn't speak for me. They're not even a user and I am, so who died and made them God to decide what's right for Comcast and what's not?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
The reason Comcast wants it is because they want it for all the reason that the original Bill of Rights was considered dangerous: it will be an exclusive enumeration of all the rights you have. All other "rights" will exist at the good will of Comcast. Not to mention that I expect all kinds of weasel words in it that mean that Comcast's Bill of Rights will be nothing more than "You're allowed to use P2P for as long as we say you can, and we're allowed to change our mind at any time and without warning".
I hope this goes down in flames.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Don't screw with your customers packets.
Problem solved.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Careful...there is such a thing as an undesirable customer. Comcast could easily say, "You're costing us too much, we don't want your business." Then what?
A "set of rules" is a "Bill of Rights" now?
Liberty in your lifetime
I trust Comcast in coming up with a P2P bill of rights about as much as I trust the fox in coming up with stipulations for how close it can legally get to the henhouse.
LEGISLATE IT.
Do not trust these slimeballs to police themselves.