Comcast To Be Punished for Blocking Lotus Notes Traffic?

Regular readers of this site might remember earlier posts about Comcast blocking internet traffic to prevent file sharing, and in the process prevented users of Lotus Notes from conducting day to day business through replication. Well, the first of what could be many judgement days for Comcast, CNet reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to "punish" Comcast:

Three of the five FCC commissioners have voted in favor of an item saying Comcast violated federal policy by dialing down peer-to-peer traffic over its network, according to FCC officials cited in The Wall Street Journal.

The news isn't much of a surprise, given that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has publicly criticized Comcast for the practice and recommended to the rest of the commissioners that they vote in favor of the decision.

"The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers' access to the Internet," the Associated Press quoted Martin saying earlier this month. "We found that Comcast's actions in this instance violated our principles."

The only problem is that they have not addressed the business productivity impacts to users, which is probably more important, It is possible, however, that this action may lead some business to file suit against Comcast. Only time will tell, but it is good to see public recognition of what the company did, and that they finally stopped denying it. Then again, how could they after the Associated Press documented the practice?

Related Links

FCC set to punish Comcast on P2P blocking (opens in a new browser window)
Comcast Accused of Blocking Internet Traffic for Businesses, Individuals
So Comcast Does Not Like It When Others Play Dirty?