Words came out last week that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin will recommend ruling that Comcast’s network practices are not only illegal, but also go against the agency’s principles by violating users’ right to open access to Internet.

FCC Chairman demanded Comcast to disclose its network management practices; Comcast on the other hand defended its actions, saying that the terms of FCC’s “reasonable network management” haven’t been made clear.

It seems that the two are looking at network traffic management from two different angles, if we look at what Comcast had to say: according to them, they only used “reasonable” network management practices, which cannot qualify as Internet blocking.

However, it’s hard for FCC to chant victory against Comcast yet, despite the investigation that revealed troubling facts about Comcast, namely that it blocked users regardless of congestion levels, at different times of the day.

Despite Comcast’s claims that its customer service agreement informs users of potential limitations, most Internet consumers are unaware of them when they purchase an Internet service.

What’s even worse is that Comcast considers its practices not only necessary, but also normal, as other ISPs around the world do the same. Furthermore, Comcast is trying to ensure high-quality, reliable Internet experience to all their customers, and they are not the only ones managing traffic on broadband network, as Sena Fitzmaurice, the company spokeswoman, said in a statement.

That doesn’t make it OK, we might add, and the Commission agrees: “The commission had adopted a set of principles that protects consumers’ access to the Internet,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told AP in an interview last week. “We found that Comcast’s actions in this instance violated our principles.”

FCC is not alone in its decision, as Free Press, the advocacy group that filed a petition in November last year against Comcast’s Internet throttling, supports FCC Chairman’s recommendation to punish Comcast for its discriminatory practices.

As Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press and author of the complaint, said in a statement, “Comcast has denied blocking, lied to the public and tried to avoid being held accountable,” and this is a “historic test for whether the law will protect the open Internet.”