Think of what you’re saying.
You can get it wrong and still you think that it’s alright.
Think of what I’m saying,
We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.
The Beatles, 1965

The Wall Street Journal reports that BitTorrent and Comcast are discussing greater use of “smart” networking techniques to speed data, including BitTorrent data, across Comcast’s network.

Over at PaidContent, the news is even more interesting, as BitTorrent claims the cable company has agreed to network management that “will be protocol agnostic & disclosed to consumers….”

This is good news:

First, it’s more evidence that the best way to keep the Internet open and affordable for all is through consumer demand, the public spotlight and a watchful FCC.

Second, BitTorrent’s explicit recognition about the need for smart networks totally undercuts the manufactured hue and cry by the Net Neutrality folks. And it discredits the idea that the “solution” for the surging increase in online data is merely to expand bandwidth.

Remember, Japanese consumers may have 100 mps pipes but P2P still clogs their networks. Under the “dumb pipe” system of Net Neutrality, who’d wind up paying for the largest online users? Answer: Everyone else.