NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] The Dilemma of Tiers and Competition
The issue of service tiers with typical consumer and small business Internet access is an interesting one. For most commodities that you purchase, you know pretty well for sure if you're getting what you pay for. A gallon of water is easy to measure. But even though most ISPs are constantly working to upsell their subscribers to "super fast, extreme, turbo, lightning speed" service levels, it's not so clear what those really mean if ISPs feel free to throttle traffic on an arbitrary and often secretive basis. And again, the issue of outside services competing with ISP video delivery offerings comes directly into play. You may have heard that the next-gen DVD "war" is over -- HD DVD is dead, and Blu-ray wins. But the same articles discussing this outcome often suggest that all forms of DVDs are on the way out, to be replaced by Internet downloads and streaming. What mechanisms exist to give us confidence that ISP traffic throttling and shaping won't be deployed in ways that (purposefully or not) make such external services uneconomical or impractical for subscribers, vs. ISPs' own competing PPV services that won't be subject to such throttling or caps? I have yet to hear suggested a fully realistic and practical solution to this dilemma. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator