Back in August I posted a message about AT&T blocking IPv6 tunnels as of the 6.9.1.42-enh.tm firmware on the Uverse 3801HGV residential gateway.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28530086-AT-T-now-blocking-IPv6-tunnels
There was some discussion about whether it was on purpose or just a big oops, but after about 8 months -- the firmware started rolling out around June I think -- without resolution I finally decided to make a complaint to the FCC since I felt it does qualify as violating the spirit of the open Internet, as quaint as that notion might now seem after the Verizon ruling.
Anyway, I just received a bizarre call from AT&T in response to my FCC complaint. They said they are blocking IPv6 tunnels intentionally because it exposed a "vulnerability in their network" that allows one to access other networks. I said that, as a networking professional, that sounds like the entire purpose of the Internet -- accessing other networks -- and she yelled back "THAT'S NOT TRUE!" She clarified that by creating an IPv6 tunnel you are being allocated a static IPv6 address from a third party that you can use to get back into your own network, bypassing AT&T and without paying AT&T extra for a static address.
So, I don't know if this is just some customer service person reading off of a script without really knowing what the words mean and getting it all wrong, or if AT&T just admitted that they're not filtering IPv6 tunnels by accident but because they haven't found a way to extract money from us for the privilege. Either way, pretty weird, and for all those affected, I wouldn't expect a fix any time soon.
↧