Video distributor wants FCC to stop ISP traffic 'throttling'

November 15, 2007 —

A distributor of online video content has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission, asking the agency to stop broadband providers from
blocking or slowing P-to-P traffic.

The petition filed by Vuze,
which uses the BitTorrent P-to-P (peer-to-peer) protocol to distribute Web content,
asks the FCC to set rules for network management by ISPs (Internet service providers).
Vuze's filing late Wednesday follows reports last month that cable broadband
provider Comcast slows some P-to-P traffic, including BitTorrent.

Broadband providers often promote their services as being necessary for watching
video online, but then they slow access to a service like Vuze's, said John
Fernandes, Vuze's vice president of marketing. "They say that they're engaging
in reasonable network management, but what they're doing is slowing down some
traffic," he said.

Vuze, which has partnerships with several movie studios, television networks
and PC game makers, wants to start a dialog with ISPs about what kind of network
management is allowed, added Gilles BianRosa, the company's CEO. But the FCC
needs to prohibit large-scale content blocking, what he called traffic "throttling,"
he said.

"The ISPs cannot decide unilaterally what to do with third-party Internet
services such as us," BianRosa said. "We need to work with them to
design a solution that works and is fair."

By blocking or slowing video and other Web content, ISPs are fighting against
customer demand for more multimedia services, BianRosa added. "We think
that ISPs are spitting into the wind with that kind of approach," he said.
"This kind of blocking has to stop."

Representatives of three large broadband providers, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T,
didn't immediately respond to a request for comments on Vuze's FCC filing. Comcast
has denied blocking Web content, but some broadband providers have opposed other
attempts to create rules against blocking some types of traffic, saying they
need to be able to ensure quality of service by managing their networks.

Vuze's FCC petition is similar in some ways to calls by consumer groups and
Internet-based firms for the FCC or the U.S. Congress to pass network neutrality
rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or slowing Web
content from competitors. The FCC has had an open inquiry into net neutrality
rules since April, and a push to pass rules in Congress has stalled.

But the Vuze proposal is more focused than net neutrality, BianRosa said. Net
neutrality often includes other issues in addition to content blocking, including
requirements for broadband and wireless providers to allow all legal devices
to connect to their networks. Vuze is asking the FCC to "dig deeper"
than the net neutrality debate, he said.

Public Knowledge, a group promoting consumer rights on the Internet, praised
the Vuze filing. Vuze is a good example of the harm caused by content blocking,
said Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge's president.

"Comcast's actions frustrate Vuze's business and force the company to
devote resources to play a 'cat and mouse' game with Comcast in order to maintain
superior service for its customers," Sohn said in an e-mail. "We hope
the FCC acts promptly before even more harm is done to more consumers and to
more companies."

Earlier this week, a Comcast customer in California filed a lawsuit against
the company, saying the provider has caused several Web-based programs to suffer
performance problems. In late October, Public Knowledge and other members of
the Open Internet Coalition filed a complaint about the alleged Comcast blocking
with the FCC.

Vuze, based in Palo Alto, California, distributes video in partnership with
movie studios and television networks including the BBC, Showtime and PBS. It
also distributes PC games, music videos, and audio files. Company officials
say the Vuze client has been installed by customers more than 12 million times
since the company, formerly called Azureus, rebranded itself in January.

IDG News Service