Comcast defends itself against FCC's VoIP probe

The Federal Communications Commission's main sparring partner in the realm of network management has sent the agency a polite but chilly refutation of its suggestion that the company may allow its own VoIP service an advantage over others running through its pipes. Comcast says that the ISP giant doesn't give its Digital Voice product (CDV) "disparate" treatment over its High-Speed Internet (HSI) lines, because it doesn't route the application through those lines. "CDV is a service separate from Comcast's HSI service; it does not run over Comcast's HSI service," Comcast Vice President Kathryn A. Zachem wrote to the Commission on January 30. The FCC has shifted its focus from the cable company's network management practices to how it handles the many VoIP services running through its system. In mid-January the agency sent a letter to Comcast, asking it to justify its "disparate treatment of its own VoIP service as compared to that offered by other VoIP providers on its network." The missive observed that Comcast's own explanation of its new network management techniques discloses that, when the system is trying to manage congestion, a VoIP call might sound "choppy." This potential choppiness stands in contrast to Comcast's own VoIP product, a difference that Comcast explains on its FAQ Network Management page. CDV is a "separate facilities-based IP phone service," Comcast notes, and "is not affected" by the new network management techniques. We seek clarification, the FCC informed Comcast, on why the company has not clarified "the distinct effects that Comcast's new network management technique has on Comcast's VoIP offering versus those of its competitors."