Scrutiny Over Comcast's Traffic Handling Grows

Already facing questions from the Federal Communications Commission regarding Comcast's managing of its network, the New York Attorney General's office subpoenaed the communications giant, whose 13 million subscribers position it as the second largest Internet service provider in the U.S. Comcast said it plans to cooperate with the attorney general's office. A Comcast spokesperson said the company has been and continues to cooperate with the attorney general's office.

This latest development comes after harsh questioning from FCC chairman Kevin Martin, who is attempting to determine if Comcast has been "unreasonable" in the way that it manages the flow of data across its network. Advocates for network neutrality have complained the company is slowing down or blocking access a particular application or service on the Web.

The six-hour FCC meeting in Cambridge, Mass on Monday provided an opportunity for Martin to publicly state the commission is "ready, willing and able to step in" and correct any "unreasonable" management practices. Martin says Comcast and its competitors must conduct traffic management in "an open and transparent way."

Comcast has also been hit with a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Washington, D.C.-area high-speed Internet customers, who claim the company promised open access to the Internet.

A Comcast spokesperson declined to comment in detail, saying the company does not discuss ongoing litigation. "While I can confirm that we have been served with this suit, we don't comment on ongoing litigation," said a Comcast spokesperson. "To be clear, Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services, and no one has demonstrated otherwise."

In November 2007, Comcast was hit with a similar suit, filed by a California man who claimed the company's secret techniques to limit access to peer-to-peer applications was a violation of anti-fraudulent advertising statutes, as well as their contract to users.