Comcast to Test Protocol-Agnostic Network Management

Cable Operator to Begin 30-Day Tests June 5 in Warrenton, Va.; Chambersburg, Pa.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/3/2008 4:13:00 PM

A Comcast source confirmed that the company is launching its test this week of a "protocol-agnostic" network-management system in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Comcast said Tuesday that it plans to begin the 30-day tests June 5 in Warrenton, Va., and Chambersburg, Pa. Why there? A spokeswoman said it was where the company had the requisite equipment and software, although she would not comment on either.

According to a Comcast description of the test, the technique only measures aggregate bandwidth consumption, not the protocol being used or the content being shared.

The company said most customers will notice "little to no change," but there will be delayed response times for "those customers who are using more than their fair share of available Internet resources at the time," which it described as "established bandwidth-usage thresholds." The cable operator also prepared an e-mail to affected customers.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin has said that one of the keys to adhering to the FCC's open Internet-access principles is making sure that customers know what network-management technique is being used.

Comcast said the trial will allow it to fine-tune the system in a real-world setting before its wider rollout.

Comcast in March pledged to adopt an Internet-traffic-management regime based on heavy consumer use rather than any particular type of software after complaints that it was impeding peer-to-peer traffic in files shared using BitTorrent.

That pledge came at the same time Comcast and BitTorrent agreed to team up to find ways that BitTorrent’s P2P file-sharing system could be used by Comcast subscribers without the need for government intervention.

Comcast has always maintained that it did not block any traffic, but instead managed traffic to try to ensure that heavy users did not compromise the online experience for others.

The company was encouraged by Martin to set a date for adopting the new network-management regime.