The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet
TECHNOLOGY/INTERNET
COMMENTARY
In The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet, Christopher Stern reports on a very real issue facing Internet users and providers: tiered-cost network access.
In the plan, some telephone companies want to charge for priority access to their Internet backbone networks. This plan would allow companies who pay more to travel faster or have more bandwidth on the net.
However, the Internet was built in such a way as to be self-healing and independent. It's quite possible the whole plot to sell priority network access may just blow up in the telephone company's collective face. I can imagine IT folks creating network paths to divert traffic around any kind of tiered backbone. In the end, the telephone companies could be left holding the bag for the hardware and we could pay higher prices for regular telephone services to make up for the loss.
We have seen the same type of power-play scenarios unfold before on the net. Some of you may remember the days of pay-by-the-minute access?
In any case, it may be a good thing to pay attention to this issue as it develops. Unlike the Europeans, most Americans want an unregulated Internet. However, pay for priority backbone access may just be something we want regulated out.
NEWSLINE
After all, if worse comes to worst, Google can pay AT&T or BellSouth to maintain its role as the Internet's dominant search engine. But the bright young start-up with the next big innovative idea won't have that option.
NEWSBYTE
The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet
(washingtonpost.com) -- Do you prefer to search for information online with Google or Yahoo? What about bargain shopping -- do you go to Amazon or eBay? Many of us make these kinds of decisions several times a day, based on who knows what -- maybe you don't like bidding, or maybe Google's clean white search page suits you better than Yahoo's colorful clutter.
But the nation's largest telephone companies have a new business plan, and if it comes to pass you may one day discover that Yahoo suddenly responds much faster to your inquiries, overriding your affinity for Google. Or that Amazon's Web site seems sluggish compared with eBay's. Read full story.
Tags: Computers and Internet, technology, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, phone, network, AT&T
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life
COMMENTARY In The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet, Christopher Stern reports on a very real issue facing Internet users and providers: tiered-cost network access.
In the plan, some telephone companies want to charge for priority access to their Internet backbone networks. This plan would allow companies who pay more to travel faster or have more bandwidth on the net.
However, the Internet was built in such a way as to be self-healing and independent. It's quite possible the whole plot to sell priority network access may just blow up in the telephone company's collective face. I can imagine IT folks creating network paths to divert traffic around any kind of tiered backbone. In the end, the telephone companies could be left holding the bag for the hardware and we could pay higher prices for regular telephone services to make up for the loss.
We have seen the same type of power-play scenarios unfold before on the net. Some of you may remember the days of pay-by-the-minute access?
In any case, it may be a good thing to pay attention to this issue as it develops. Unlike the Europeans, most Americans want an unregulated Internet. However, pay for priority backbone access may just be something we want regulated out.
NEWSLINE
After all, if worse comes to worst, Google can pay AT&T or BellSouth to maintain its role as the Internet's dominant search engine. But the bright young start-up with the next big innovative idea won't have that option.
NEWSBYTE
The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet
(washingtonpost.com) -- Do you prefer to search for information online with Google or Yahoo? What about bargain shopping -- do you go to Amazon or eBay? Many of us make these kinds of decisions several times a day, based on who knows what -- maybe you don't like bidding, or maybe Google's clean white search page suits you better than Yahoo's colorful clutter.
But the nation's largest telephone companies have a new business plan, and if it comes to pass you may one day discover that Yahoo suddenly responds much faster to your inquiries, overriding your affinity for Google. Or that Amazon's Web site seems sluggish compared with eBay's. Read full story.
Tags: Computers and Internet, technology, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, phone, network, AT&T
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life
posted by Steven Moyer at 3:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home