Sun 4 Nov 2007
Comcast Facing Wrath of Consumers, Congressmen, Wall Street Over BitTorrent Throttling
Posted by Jesse under Cheers, Jeers, Legislation, News
In the wake of Comcast's throttling, er, "delaying" of BitTorrent connections, it seems like all hell has broken loose for the mammoth cable operator. Not only are they facing lawsuits, consumer complaints to the FCC and some seriously peeved members of Congress, but they'll also have to contend with a re-energized network neutrality debate.
Throughout the whole process, Comcast has made itself look worse and worse. First they denied. Then when the AP caught them, they tried to spin it and claim that they were "delaying" instead of outright blocking. Then when an internal memo got leaked detailing their official policy, they started on a witch-hunt to find and terminate the responsible employee. So to recap, Comcast thinks that good PR consists of deny, spin, fire whomever talked. It's a Reality Distortion Field™ that would make Steve Jobs proud.
Since the story broke, Wall Street has been pounding the company, sending their stock price to a 52-week low. Even prior to their dismal earnings report on the 25th, the stock had already dropped about 25% from it's 52-week high. What's to blame? Probably their poor customer service driving customers away to services like Verizon's FIOS and a lack of dial-up customers to continue their growth. Industry observers have said it's time for them to start dropping prices, but that doesn't jive with their plans to jack up television rates even higher.
Do you hear that, Comcast? That is the sound of inevitability. That is the sound of your irrelevance.
November 5th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Irrelevance… Yeah, that’s how I view the company. I’m sure the buggy whip manufacturers were pissed when cars came on the scene. But hey, that’s what happens with old technology
Oh and it seems I won’t be able to attend the meeting after all. The agenda item is scheduled for 10:00am however I’m flying out 90 minutes after. Sucks I know but I’ve already sent a letter to the council telling them my thoughts about the issues.
I’m sure everyone CEPT for Senator Stephenson and Rep Frank will even care. I didn’t get the impression either was terribly receptive to anything anyone (ie… their bosses) had to say on the subject. In fact, I’d question whether they had even spoken with their constituents about the matter. Just a guess.
Anyway, it’s good to see Comcast taking a beating. IMO I believe the company will either improve or go the way of the dodo bird. It’s their choice. And personally, I don’t care. I’m done with them. I will never do business with them again.