ISPs say P2P bandwidth costs too much, 1.3 billion in 2003
Posted on 26/05/03 11:47 by
Dennis
Savannah and Crabbyappleton both used our news submit to tell us that according to an
article at ZDNet, file-sharing traffic is costing ISPs (Internet Service Providers) too
much money.
As a result of more and more
high-speed Internet connections there has been an explosive increase in file
trading. Currently as much as 60% of data traffic generated on ISP networks
is in the form of music, movie and software files:
|
 British start-up CacheLogic estimates the global
cost of file sharing to ISPs will top $1.3 billion in 2003, an expense
that will nearly triple next year. And yet
it's the popularity of sharing music, film and game files with other
computer users that is drawing many customers to high-speed broadband
Internet services in the first place.
But many industry watchers say the "all-you-can-eat''
formula for selling broadband is coming to an end. According to Jupiter
Research, nearly 60 percent of European ISPs either have instituted or are
considering instituting bandwidth limits on data-hogging customers.
Holding some of them back is a concern among some companies that a cap on
people's data allotment will anger customers who already pay roughly $58
(50 euros) in Europe per month for broadband access.
A few start-ups, including CacheLogic and Canada's
Sandvine, have developed
technological stop-gaps aimed at cutting down on costs without imposing
drastic usage measures.
CacheLogic's Parker said a number of European ISPs are
testing a new computer server that it has developed, which places limits
on file-sharing traffic flow. The server,
which operates on Linux software, largely confines file-sharing activities
to customers within the same ISP, resulting in big potential cost
savings. |
According to the article the bandwidth costs associated with
file sharing are not sending ISPs into the red, but the companies are anxious to
bring the amounts under control.
Source: ZDNet
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Reactions
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errmm...they're moaning about us using a service which we pay them for.
Yup, they offer unlimited montly service then when people actually use it. They complain because they want us to pay for a full month then only use a fourth of it
"File sharing is too expensive." Take a real close look at the Internet. I don't know if anyone has noticed but it's just one big filesharing network. HTML documents are files after all. What exactly did they think they were getting into when they started their business?
It's suppose to be supply and demand right, if people want a lot of bandwidth, give them a lot of bandwith. Then charge them.
Probably why NTL have snuck a 1Gb/day limit in by the back door without telling anyone. The service gets reduced but you still pay the same or more (128k up to 17.99 now).
By
dansmug,
Monday 26 May 2003 16:19
Probably limits will become more and more common. I've had a 10 gig/month limit since the beginning 
By
Bobsen,
Monday 26 May 2003 16:29
Well, boys they got us by the short hairs don't they? I mean if we stop using them we get nothing and if we go with caps then it becomes the 'standard'. The only recourse would be a total boycott of the ISP's that cap useage, and if they all cap that means NO internet at all. Whats a poor mother to do?
By
the111,
Monday 26 May 2003 18:22
It's worth remembering that the 1gb/day limit on NTL allows considerable room for movement - they're fine with you using more than 1gb/day, but not as a matter of course (not more than twice, significantly, in two weeks).
As someone who has 150gb of downloaded files on his hard disks, I don't regularly use more than 1gb / day. What would?
By
Kenshin,
Monday 26 May 2003 19:04
Maybe I can test whether I can download and upload more than 1TB files. I need more than two computers with more than 1TB storage each and the places with FTTH lines.
back when i didnt buy things....i'd get 4-5 movies a night, sometimes of the same film, to see the quality 
the problem with file sharing for isps is that everyone is doing it at once. they base their bandwidth figures on a certain % of people using their service at any time of the day, but with file sharing, they could be generating the most use when not at the computer.
just need the line, not 1 tb storage. upload the same things over and over, and delete them.
By
sorti,
Tuesday 27 May 2003 00:42
This is why we all should do our file sharing via local nodes on a giant mech wifi network.
Won't it be fun when you pay $ .99 / a track then $ .99 to DOWNLOAD the music haha, makes you wonder why the cable companies got into broadband... Could this be the reason? to replace the shipping companies?
By
fb-,
Tuesday 27 May 2003 01:40
You should see ISPs here. You can get broadband. Sure. For 20KBPS and no more than 1gig of traffic a month for $179 a month. Go over a gig, get cut off.
By
scum1,
Tuesday 27 May 2003 02:46
They are making money right! They just want to make more as always with these companies. I could live with 2gb per day myself and I consider myself to download more than your average user. It should all even out since a lot of people probably don't use near that much. Lets hope they don't turn out to be as stupid and evil as the RIAA. http://www.lcity.com/evil.htm
WTF do these guys think you want broadband for?? Viewing AOL pages
a bit faster! If you stop the P2P you will stop the reason for buyingbroadband services.
Actually thats what I originally got broadband for in '97. That and I needed to share internet access with 6 other computers in the house. It allowed me to remove the central system that was in the living room with the modem that everyone used to surf and check email. The file sharing and Napster style stuff came later. Of course there was always IRC but thats another story.
By
Sherrif,
Wednesday 28 May 2003 06:09
Confining filesharing to customers within the same ISP would certainly make it easier for someone to be tracked.............
If you confined filesharing between people that use the same ISP the Internet would fall. You couldn't view any web pages unless you used the same ISP as that web page.
Gnutella works by downloading mp3s just like your web browser downloads HTML documents. Locking down access between people of the same ISP just wouldn't work. You wouldn't have email because you have to share files to get your email, you wouldn't have the web, that's file sharing, nobody could advertise on web sites because there's no way you could get the GIF image to see the ad without some file sharing between you and someone that has a different ISP.
Everything on the Interenet is just one way of sharing information. If you stop people from sharing you have no Internet.
And yes it would make it easier to track people, because when you can only view one or two web pages because that's all your ISP hosts, everyone will stop using the net except for maybe two people. It's not that hard to track two people now is it.
Cause you have to remember, a lot of filesharing applications can't be blocked unless you also block that users web browser, because it goes through the same port as the web browser. If you block that you have no Web anymore.
[edited by chsbiking on 29.05.2003 19:18]
Happy Birthday to you drizztna 
johnzap thank you for your reaction in the news section. 
platinumsword just logged in, Good to see you back!