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Comcast says it won’t throttle heavy internet users — for now

Comcast says it won’t throttle heavy internet users — for now

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It will provide an update if it begins to throttle users again

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Comcast has ended its practice of throttling heavy internet users that are congesting the network, the cable company said in a Monday announcement. It said that its network is now strong enough to handle congestion, without needing to purposefully slow down speeds.

The news coincides with the Monday deadline for net neutrality rules to be rolled back. Under FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order, companies may have more freedom to throttle, block traffic, or offer premium internet speeds at premium cost. But for some reason, Comcast is choosing not to throttle its users anymore. In a statement to The Verge, the company explains: “With well over 99 percent of our internet customers using more modern DOCSIS gateways and modems, congestion on individual channels is no longer an issue that needs to be managed.”

The throttling system Comcast started using in 2008 has been “essentially inactive for more than a year,” and now they’re disabling it completely. Still, Comcast says it reserves the right to “implement a new congestion-management system if necessary,” but that it’ll provide a new update if that happens.