Comcast announced that it will no longer throttle heavy internet traffic users just a few days after the end of the Obama-era regulation called net neutrality.
Thanks to an update in browser capabilities, Comcast no longer needs to continue a practice it started in 2008 of throttling — slowing down internet traffic — users who go through a lot of data. It acknowledges, however, it “reserve[s] the right to implement a new congestion management system if necessary.”
“Our network and consumer devices have evolved to a point that our old congestion-management system is no longer necessary. The system has been essentially inactive for more than a year,” Comcast said, CNET reported Wednesday.
Comcast will charge users who don’t have unlimited data plans a fee if they use more than 1 TB of data.
With the end of net neutrality — the vague idea internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all internet traffic the same — on Monday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now has jurisdiction over anticompetitive behavior. The new rules the FCC put in place also require ISPs disclose network-management practices and performance details.
Dozens of ISPs including Comcast and Verizon pledged not to throttle internet users as the internet nearly collectively rang alarms that ISPs would slow the internet down. (RELATED: FCC Hands Internet Regulation Back To FTC Today)
Comcast credited advancements in Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) — internet provided with a cable modem — for the decongested internet traffic.
“With well over 99 percent of our internet customers using more modern DOCSIS gateways and modems, congestion on individual channels is no longer an issue that needs to be managed,” Comcast said. “We took the opportunity to formalize this change while we were updating our other customer disclosures.”
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