Comcast Appeals FCC Network Management OrderComcast Appeals FCC Network Management Order

Comcast has appealed an FCC order that would have forced the cable operator and ISP to lift its restrictions on customers' Internet use. The company, however, said it plans to voluntarily comply with the substance of the order.

Last month, the Federal Communications Commission issued a memorandum, published statements from commissioners, and released a news announcement alleging that Comcast's network management practices contravene federal policies that protect "the vibrant and open nature of the Internet." It also set forth a list of requirements the company must meet within 30 days.

Comcast said Thursday that it will comply with the order's terms even as it attempts to overturn it in court.

The order followed an FCC investigation into complaints that the company was blocking certain types of Internet traffic. The FCC concluded that Comcast discriminated against customers using peer-to-peer services, such as BitTorrent. Comcast has maintained that its network management practices are aboveboard and intended to deal with high traffic. The company has also made several announcements about its attempts to improve network management practices.

"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," David L. Cohen, executive VP at Comcast, said in a statement. "Thus, we intend to make the required filings and disclosures, and we will follow through on our longstanding commitment to transition to protocol-agnostic network congestion management practices by the end of this year."

Cohen explained Comcast's reasoning for filing an appeal of the FCC decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

"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," he said. "We continue to recognize that the Commission has jurisdiction over Internet service providers and may regulate them in appropriate circumstances and in accordance with appropriate procedures. However, we are compelled to appeal because we strongly believe that, in this particular case, the Commission's action was legally inappropriate and its findings were not justified by the record."

Essentially, Comcast argued that the FCC did not have the legal authority to impose new rules on the cable and Internet service provider.