NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: March 27, 2008 Clyde Ensslin, 202-418-0506 Email: clyde.ensslin@fcc.gov STATEMENT BY FCC CHAIRMAN KEVIN J. MARTIN ON ANNOUNCEMENT BY COMCAST AND BITTORRENT “I am pleased that Comcast has reversed course and agreed that it is not a reasonable network management practice to arbitrarily block certain applications on its network. I also commend the company for admitting publicly that it was engaging in the practice and now engaging in a dialog with BitTorrent. I hope that the negotiations to which Comcast commits today will result in a solution that preserves consumers’ ability to access any lawful Internet content and applications of their choice. That ability is fundamental to preserving the open marketplace and innovation that characterizes the Internet. I am concerned, though, that Comcast has not made clear when they will stop this discriminatory practice. It appears this practice will continue throughout the country until the end of the year and in some markets, even longer. While it may take time to implement its preferred new traffic management technique, it is not at all obvious why Comcast couldn’t stop its current practice of arbitrarily blocking its broadband customers from using certain applications. Comcast should provide its broadband customers as well as the Commission with a commitment of a date certain by when it will stop this practice. The Commission will remain vigilant in ensuring that consumers have the ability to access the lawful content of their choice on the Internet. Our hearing on April 17 offers us the opportunity to explore more fully what constitutes reasonable network management practices, including, as Commissioner Tate has highlighted, the important ability for network managers to block the distribution of illegal content, including pirated movies and music and child pornography.” News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found on the Commission’s web site www.fcc.gov.