Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#1

Post by another_comment » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

For several years, I've run 3 VOIP phones from my house. About a week ago they stopped working. SIP REGISTER started failing.

Turns out Spectrum now blocks TCP/UDP port 5060. My workaround is to use a VPN. After that, everything is fine.

This reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/networking/comments/t8nulq/spectrum_is_rate_limiting_voipsip_traffic_port/ suggests Spectrum was rate limiting 5060 on 300mbps plans, but not on the 100mbps plans.

I have the 100mbps plan, and it is definitely affected now.

So if you are in SoCal, using Spectrum, and your VOIP phones suddenly stopped working in the last week or so, maybe this will help you.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#2

Post by matt123456789 » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:05 PM UTC

Guess they want you to pay for their bundled phone plan instead. I’m guessing you can bring this to their attention and get some boilerplate response containing words like “abuse” and “safety”. Prognosis: This will go to court on common carrier terms and the block will be lifted in 3-4 years.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#3

Post by jeroenhd » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:06 PM UTC

Is that even legal? Blocking network traffic because it competes with their offering?

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#4

Post by zbrozek » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

jeroenhd wrote: post #3

Is that even legal? Blocking network traffic because it competes with their offering?

Carriers do all kinds of filtering. They've blocked mail, file transfer, network discovery, and others for a long time. cgNAT blocks half of everything.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#5

Post by jmole » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

jeroenhd wrote: post #3

Is that even legal? Blocking network traffic because it competes with their offering?

Maybe they're forwarding the port to an internal service running on the router, instead of blocking it. At the very least, it would be nice if they let you turn it off.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#6

Post by throw0101c » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:14 PM UTC

jeroenhd wrote: post #3

Is that even legal? Blocking network traffic because it competes with their offering?

The terms of service may prohibit running a "service" or "server", for some definition, on a residential contract.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#7

Post by another_comment » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:23 PM UTC

My call quality also seems better since I've switched on the VPN. I do not have numerical proof of this, but it sure seems like my voice calls are crystal clear now.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#8

Post by yummypaint » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:27 PM UTC

jeroenhd wrote: post #3

Is that even legal? Blocking network traffic because it competes with their offering?

From the wikipedia net neutrality page it looks like the FCC's stance has historically depended on the administration in power. There was the much celebrated 2015 change to title II, which was undone in 2017 i.e. the start of the ajit pai era. Now he is finally gone, but not before casting his vote in a 3-2 decision in 2020 to keep net neutrality dismantled. The new chair is pro-nn and working to undo the damage but it takes time.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#9

Post by another_comment » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:27 PM UTC

matt123456789 wrote: post #2

Guess they want you to pay for their bundled phone plan instead. I’m guessing you can bring this to their attention and get some boilerplate response containing words like “abuse” and “safety”. Prognosis: This will go to court on common carrier terms and the block will be lifted in 3-4 years.

>> Guess they want you to pay for their bundled phone plan instead.

I think you are right. But I am waaaay to cheap for that. I'm using Twilio on some Raspberry Pi's with some software I wrote myself. For 3 phone numbers, I'm spending like $10 a month total.

Re: Tell HN: Spectrum is blocking TCP/UDP 5060 at my home

#10

Post by relentlesshack » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 5:30 PM UTC

Use a session border controller if possible to get around the port blocking.