A little more than a year ago, Comcast got their wrist slapped by the FCC for throttling upstream P2P traffic (and lying about it to the press and consumers), though the "sanction" contained no substantive punishment or fine. Still, Comcast has been battling the ruling ever since, arguing that the FCC's neutrality principles (pdf) don't give the FCC the authority to investigate the issue, much less sanction the company. In a final filing (pdf) provided to Broadband Reports by Comcast, the carrier argues that the FCC also violated "basic rules of fair notice:"Of course the debate over whether the FCC has the authority to enforce neutrality principles is a major reason why the FCC is taking steps to expand those rules, so there's little doubt they have the authority to act when carriers engage in particularly heavy-handed neutrality violations. Comcast however still wants the original FCC ruling overturned. Final joint briefs are due in the case between Comcast and the FCC November 23, but Comcast tells us their final document should essentially mirror this one.

As you might expect, the FCC's own filing doesn't see things quite the same way. The agency argues that their "determinations were lawful and reasonable," and that the agency was well within its mandate. "Congress created the FCC for cases such as this one," the agency says.