I was present when people with pointy ears entered IETF meetings and
ordered this. Is this the answer you expect?
Perhaps search engines can provide better answers. Worth trying:
ex. http://www.quora.com/Why-is-ADSL-asymmetric
Without getting in codecs and frequency allocations, consider that there
are perfectly functioning symmetric variants of DSL (SDSL etc.) The
underlying narrative is that "there is more download than upload", which
then, combined with NATs, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Before DSL, we had modems for analog audio lines, and they were fully
symmetric.
To dig out the chain of causality, one would need to track where this
narrative originated in 90s, and how it found its way into the standards
bodies, and why ISPs preferred ADSL to SDSL. All in 90s, it was too late
after that.
It may well be true that most people really have nothing to say and
create, so asymmetry makes sense, as they just need to be fed. But
neglecting social consequences and amplifying this situation with
technology *is* a political decision. Most people don't vote - does it
mean that the number of voting booths should be cut down?
On 7/28/15, 2:56, Iain Boal wrote:
So there was a purely political decision to build in the asymmetries.
Can you corroborate, beyond the mere assertion? Who? When? Evidence
welcome. IB
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