Comcast, the cable giant, and file sharing web site BitTorrent, seem like natural enemies. The cable company wants to keep "broadband-hogging" BitTorrent from slowing down its system.
And BitTorrentwants its users to be able to use as much broadband as they need to get files through its system, super-fast. And the cable company and web company have been ad odds since Comcast said it blocked BitTorrent's traffic at peak times because Bit Torrent consumed so much of its broadband space, it was slowing internet speeds across its system.
But now, a monumental collaboration between the two. Comcast will no longer discriminate against specific applications like BitTorrent, which takes up half of Comcast's bandwidth. And the companies will work together to transport data efficiently, to improve consumer experience.
That means Bit Torrent is willing to change its software's structure so it doesn't take up quite so much space. One reason Comcast was biased against sites like BitTorrent was because they effectively cost them more by taking up so much bandwidth. BitTorrent's president tells me that by building a better network together, Comcast will be able to get a bigger bang for its buck.