INQUIRER: [T]he FCC, for the first time, will establish enforceable rules for how Comcast and other broadband companies can treat the Internet. The agency is calling the order a precedent-setting move that will provide some consumer protections. The agency’s five commissioners are expected to vote on it tomorrow at the agency headquarters in Washington. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, has found allies in Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, who reportedly intend to vote for the punishment order. Republican Commissioners Robert M. McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate are expected to oppose Martin’s order. Comcast and FCC have held talks to settle the dispute. Most expect Comcast to appeal to the courts if the order passes. The issue at hand involves Comcast customers who use its network to transmit enormous data files — full-length movies, for example — over the Internet. Comcast interrupts these “Internet hogs,” but not, the company says, for the anticompetitive reasons that Free Press and other critics say.
If people are downloading or uploading massive amounts of data, the Internet slows because of data jams. High online speeds are a goal for all Comcast customers, and the company had to interrupt some Internet traffic to ease jams, Comcast says. In response to the criticism, Comcast says it will change how it manages its huge Internet network and give customers more information about its practices. “We continue to assert that our network-management practices were reasonable, wholly consistent with industry practices and that we did not block access to Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services. We do not believe the record supports any other conclusion,” Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement. MORE
FORBES: Shares of Comcast Corp. soared on Wednesday after the cable operator reported that free cash flow more than tripled in the second quarter. The Philadelphia-based company said free cash flow rose by 216 percent to $1.2 billion. Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA – news – people ) posted net income of $632 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $588 million, or 19 cents, in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts had expected, on average, profits of 22 cents on revenue of $8.54 billion. Shares of Comcast rose by 89 cents, or 4.6 percent, to close at $20.07 Wednesday. MORE