Comcast and BitTorrent Team up Despite Differences

Looking to rehabilitate its image on handling peer-to-peer network traffic, Comcast Corp will cooperate with file-sharing company BitTorrent Inc. on ways to allow the file-swapping technology work better on the Internet service provider’s broadband network, the two companies announced Thursday.

The companies seeks ways to run BitTorrent’s technology more smoothly on Comcast’s broadband network and allow Comcast to transport video files more effectively over its own network in the future, Tony Werner, Comcast’s chief technology officer said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Rather than slow traffic by certain types of applications — such as file-sharing software or companies like BitTorrent — Comcast will slow traffic for those users who consume the most bandwidth.”

This will require the operator “to rapidly reconfigure our network management systems, but the outcome will be a traffic-management technique that is more appropriate for today’s emerging Internet Trends,” Werner added.

The new policy, which would also factor in additional data capacity, could take effect by the end of the year, if lab tests show it to be feasible.

BitTorent CEO Doug Walker said the two companies could serve consumers best only by working together along with the broader ISP and Internet community to jointly develop networks that are more efficient and applications. “This would prove to be a productive partnership that will provide consumers with a better Internet Experience.”