[ NNSquad ] Re: Richard Bennett on Comcast and Fairness (from IP)

["Andy Richardson" <andyr2120@gmail.com>]

On 1/15/08, Wes Felter <wesley@felter.org> wrote:

On Jan 15, 2008, at 1:30 PM, Barry Gold wrote:
>
> But even if the "excessive" user _were_ "blocking the line to
> the...buffet" (presumably by filling the local loop up with his
> packets), dropping packets is a useful solution.  The ISP can (or
> should be able to) program the cable modem to drop the packets
> before they ever get on the local loop -- right there in the user's
> house/apartment/business.

Supposedly, cable modems that exist today cannot do this. So if ISPs
*cannot* do the right thing, what should they do?

Wes Felter - wesley@felter.org - http://felter.org/wesley/

They can go in several different directions:

(1)  upgrade their infrastructure to handle the traffic

(2)  lower prices to make up for lower network performance

(3)  lose customers until the problem basically fixes itself

(4)  establish tiers of access w/ easily understood caps, charging more for heavier access

(5)  implement a shady scheme of network shaping and undocumented caps until the market matures and rome burns, see option 3.

 

I don't think I missed any of the major options, but the devil is in the details...

 

Andy Richardson