Comcast Takes a Page From AT&T

Comcast doesn’t like all the publicity about its blocking P2P traffic, including BitTorrent and Lotus Notes e-mails, so it has threatened to fire any employee who admits to the policy.

According to Ars Technica, Comcast customer service people are given a script to work from, and told that if any deviation is found, job loss may occur.

Comcast has been reported to be using Sandvine to send fake TCP reset packets, which effectively stops the transfers.

from Ars Technica

Ars has heard from multiple Comcast employees since the story broke, and they’re all telling us the same thing. They’re supposed to tell customers asking whether Comcast limits access to BitTorrent that the ISP doesn’t block access to any application, including BitTorrent. Furthermore, tech support workers are supposed to toe the party line at all times, or they’ll be fired. “Management informed anyone that discussed this issue with any customer or press associate that it would lead to termination,” an internal tier 2 tech support worker told Ars on the condition of anonymity.

also found, are the talking points -

“Comcast does not block access to any applications, including BitTorrent,” the e-mail continues. “We respect our customers’ privacy and we don’t monitor specific customer activities on the Internet or track individual online behavior, such as which web sites they visit. Therefore, we do not know whether any individual user is visiting BitTorrent or any other site.”

The e-mail continues along that vein, covering the same ground that Comcast spokespeople have used in their dealings with the media. “We have a responsibility to provide all of our customers with a good experience online and we use the latest technologies to manage our network,” reads the e-mail. “This is standard practice for ISPs and network operators all over the world.”

 

further -

traffic. “I believe they implemented Sandvine to conserve bandwidth for many reasons,” the employee told Ars on the condition of anonymity. “Number one, to improve the integrity of the network for Comcast Digital Voice call quality and for more HD channels. The second reason is to conserve bandwidth from data providers (Cogent, Level3, and AT&T) and basically to save money.”

A number of studies have attempted to quantify the amount of P2P traffic flying across the networks of residential ISPs. A German traffic management firm thinks P2P traffic accounts for anywhere between 50 and 90 percent of all traffic on the Internet. Ellacoya, a player in the deep packet inspection arena, thinks the figure is closer to 37 percent. The numbers may vary, but the consensus is clear: P2P traffic is heavy.

Publicly, all Comcast has admitted to is “delaying” P2P traffic, meaning that the packets are held up for awhile if the ISP believes it is necessary. But Comcast users’ experiences with Comcast’s traffic shaping is sometimes at odds with what the company is telling them. The internal e-mails Ars has seen and our conversations with Comcast employees paint a picture of a company that is trying to hide the true extent of its activities. Or, as one employee told us, “They did it because they think they can get away with it.”

This is almost as bad as the AT&T policy, except Comcast is being more deceitful in its practice. Telling the world one story and your employees another, with threat of job loss is a vile practice - and it’s certainly not Comcastic!

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[tags] Comcast, AT&T, lies, deceptive practices, truth in advertising, litigation, P2P, BitTorrent [/tags]