Comcast has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission over its ruling that the company is mishandling some customers Internet traffic.
Comcast said in a filing Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, that it would comply with the FCC decision, but its was appealing the decision and the findings that the company was in violation.
“Although we are seeking review and reversal of the Commission’s network management order in federal court, we intend to comply fully with the requirements established in that order, which essentially codify the voluntary commitments that we have already announced, and to continue to act in accord with the Commission’s Internet Policy Statement,” said David L.Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corporation in a statement.
The FCC said that Comcast’s network management practices were “discriminatory and arbitrary” and the company practices “significantly impeded Internet user’s ability to use applications and access content of their choice.”
Last week Comcast said it was going to put caps on customer’s Internet usage beginning October 1. Users who go over the 250 GB limit twice in a six month period could have their service terminated for a year. The company says the new bandwidth cap will affect less than one percent of its 14 million subscribers.
The 250 GB limit equals 50 million emails or 125 million standard definition movies according to Comcast. It said its average customer uses two to three GB of bandwidth per month.
Cohen said that Comcast’s network management practices are reasonable. He said “We filed this appeal in order to protect our legal rights and to challenge the basis on which the Commission found that Comcast violated federal policy in the absence of pre-existing legally enforceable standards or rules.”
