• by Wayne Friedman , July 14, 2008

The Federal Communications Commission has said Comcast has violated its open-access Internet principles -- but stopped short of fining them.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin noted in a press conference the agency deemed Comcast actions a "wrong practice" that blocked some Internet users of BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer downloading file-sharing site. But Martin wasn't more specific than that. He added that the agency was looking into determining what is appropriate and what is not when managing Internet traffic.

For its part, Comcast has said it manages Internet usage, but doesn't block content. Martin said at times that Comcast blocked some lighter users, while letting heavy users to go unblocked.

Comcast has also said it is moving to a more "agnostic" system, not looking to target any specific Internet destinations,. It was working with BitTorrent to solve some of the problems, which include massive peer-to-peer downloading by users.

Comcast has complained that the FCC has never provided any guidance on what it deems "reasonable" network management.

In 2005, the FCC announced its nondiscrimination Internet guidelines. Martin said the FCC still has authority to enforce the "principles" through enforcement actions. Going forward, cable operators could likely be fined, said the agency's head, if their network-management techniques similarly violate the FCC's principles.

Martin identified the Comcast problem back in April and voiced comments to the Senate Commerce Committee. The original FCC complaint came through the organization Free Press.