[ NNSquad ] Re: More on Verizon's rejection of AT&T's attitude toward filtering

[Edward Almasy <ealmasy@scout.wisc.edu>]

On Feb 6, 2008, at 11:32 AM, Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> The bandwidth caps, tiers, and surcharges now being contemplated by
> various ISPs become especially problematic when viewed in terms of
> ISPs' own provision of data intensive content (e.g. video and movie
> services) that would *not* be subject to the ISP-dictated bandwidth
> constraints placed on external Internet traffic and similar external
> services.


This point should be of particular interest to smaller ISPs, who are  
unlikely to be directly involved in content services.  If the very  
large ISPs can leverage said aspects of the ISP portion of their  
business to make the content portion more profitable, that may quickly  
lead to their ISP rates being subsidized to a degree that will rapidly  
drive smaller (unsubsidized) competitors out of business.  Which  
should be of particular interest to the rest of us, since the eventual  
result will almost certainly be something more closely resembling our  
current, frustratingly uncompetitive cable television marketplace.

Ed