Deborah Taylor Tate

While the Federal Communication Commission voted 3-2 to punish Comcast for its alleged poor network-management practices, concerns are being raised about the FCC's legal authority over the cable-TV and Internet services provider.

On Friday, the FCC ruled that Comcast had been monitoring and blocking subscribers' use of peer-to-peer file sharing, specifically with BitTorrent P2P software.

A divided Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Comcast Corp. violated U.S. government policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers and has ordered the cable giant to change the way it manages its network.

In a precedent-setting move, the FCC by a 3-2 vote on Friday enforced a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Internet.

The commission did not assess a fine, but ordered the company to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of "file-sharing" software.

A merger of the nation's only two satellite radio companies moved closer to fruition Thursday after the pair agreed to pay $19.7 million to settle a case alleging violation of federal rules.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press the agency had reached an agreement late Wednesday night where XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will pay $17.5 million and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will pay $2.2 million to resolve that issue.

Although the Internet was started here, the U.S. can't seem to catch up with other developed nations when it comes to giving citizens access to high-speed connections.