Net neutrality advocates were tickled to hear last night that the head of the Federal Communications Commission is going to recommend  Comcast Corp. be punished over allegations that the cable company has blocked some Internet traffic.

According to the Associated Press story,  FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will urge fellow commissioners to rule against the nation’s largest cable company in a case that could have significant ramifications for net neutrality, the loosely defined idea that everyone must be treated the same on the Internet.

“The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers access to the Internet,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press late Thursday. “We found that Comcast’s actions in this instance violated our principles.”

The company says it does not block traffic,  but that it employs limited network management in the interest of all customers.

Company spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice on Thursday denied that Comcast blocks Internet content or services and that the “carefully limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network are a reasonable part” of the company’s strategy to ensure all customers receive quality service.

The case stems from claims that Comcast was blocking access to certain high-bandwidth sites, primarily file sharing sites. Groups supporting net neutrality complained to the FCC.

The outcome is being closely watched both by net neutrality advocates and the industry, which wants more freedom in managing network traffic.

Martin must be joined by two other commissioners to make his recommendations stick.