Comcast Ruling Means Web Usage Fees

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote against the way Comcast (CMCSA Quote) has managed bandwidth on its Internet network --- a move that industry observers say will have the unintended consequence of pushing cable operators to usage-based pricing.

With a majority vote spearheaded by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, regulators will rule that Comcast violated federal policy by willfully delaying Internet traffic for users of person-to-person (P2P) applications, including the much-maligned BitTorrent service. BitTorrent is a client used to download and share large files, often illegally pirated movies and music, and one that also eats up an enormous amount of bandwidth.

During an interview with CNBC Friday, Martin said the FCC will order Comcast "to stop that practice where they're blocking consumers' access to certain kinds of content and applications and that they have to disclose that to their customers. One of the most troubling parts of this was not only were they blocking access, but they were hiding it from their own customers."

Craig Moffett, analyst with Sanford Bernstein, writes that the FCC's decision "will effectively prohibit network operators from employing application-specific network management techniques. In layman's terms, network operators won't be able to discriminate based on application or content.

"Regardless of who you believe, or where your individual sympathies lie, the FCC's vote ... will have important consequences," Moffett continues. "Think of it as a 'here's what you can't do' open letter."

Without the ability to target and discriminate against P2P users who are hogging massive amounts of bandwidth, Comcast and its rivals will resort to using other tools to control their networks and bandwidth usage.