On Wed, 2009-09-23 at 20:04 -0600, Kenneth Burgener wrote: > Regarding data discrimination. This leads to the realm of Quality of > Service. Certain traffic needs to have better QoS to work properly. > Web traffic, Games and VoIP need low latency, but push through > relativity low bandwidth traffic. File serving doesn't is not as > greatly affected by, but needs higher bandwidth. Should ISPs not be > able manage their network to give Web Traffic, VoIP and Games a higher QoS?
This is the sticking point. Who decides the QoS rules? Should I get get better QoS when I'm using Comcast VOIP than when I'm using Vonage? Who decides the QoS for DistruptiveNimbleStartup's new protocol? Does it make a difference if the new protocol competes with one of the ISP's bundled services? Most of the major ISPs still enjoy a significant advantage because they were granted cable or telephone monopolies. Does your power company get to provide you with a different level of reliability based on the brand of appliance you plug in? Does your cell phone company get to decide whose calls connect when the tower is really busy based on the model of your phone? Personally, I haven't picked a side. I'm glad the debate is happening, and I'm glad it hasn't been rushed. I suspect the solution is going to involve equal parts legislation to prevent anti-competitive behavior, technical innovation to deal with real world behavior, and infrastructure investment. -- "XML is like violence: if it doesn't solve your problem, you aren't using enough of it." - Chris Maden /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
