Advertisement
Promo

Network management Toolkit in association with http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;217618582;14453422;e?http://www.citrix.com/lang/English/lp/lp_1688615.asp

Story: Online TV blamed for choking broadband networks

  • Previous comment

Posted by: 300118 (Friday 1 February 2008, 10:13 AM)

  • Reply

Users wanting to use the bandwidth they pay for blamed for choking...

I suspect this really is fairly straightforwards. Some ISP's base their service provision on a gamble; that they can sell customers a service that they are unlikely to ever make maximum use of. To ramp up their profits, they gamble that in fact they will never need to deliver on their promise. Promises like 'up to' 8Mb and 'unlimited usage - fair usage policy applies'. Guess what... it doesn't work like that. Simple supply and demand proves again and again that if people are provided with a service, they will eventually use it and ultimately want more (of a good thing).

While I'm no fan of P2P and certainly no fan of Kontiki based applications, content providers like the BBC and C4 are responding to the demands of their audiences, who shout that they want new services and new ways to receive content. IPTv is something I've waited for, for a long time, like many others. The current level of provision is a drop in the ocean compared to what I look forwards to. It's one of the many reasons I purchased a fast connection.

Like most people, I expect that my ISP lives up to and is able to deliver on the promises made. That's the contract between us. My ISP expects that I don't abuse the service, don't use it for commercial or unlawful purposes. In return I expect my ISP to deliver the bandwidth I pay for, consistently and without limitation on data volume - just as the contract stipulates. If an ISP has chosen to gamble that I won't actually seek to use the services I pay for, then that is a grave error.

The BBC (ultimately the licencepayer) pays for it's data connection at it's end, while I pay for mine on my end of the line. Don't expect to charge two customers for a data transmission service and then complain when they use it, that's just plain rude.

ISP's - if you're subscribing to the gamble model, take heed, time's up. Time to invest in actually providing the capacity you're selling. The time is now.

Private message disabled

300118

300118
n/a
Member since: January 2004

Site Activity Rating:

1

 


  • Previous comment

  • Reply to this comment
  • Return to story
  • Report this as offensive


Full Talkback thread

Related Citrix Resources

Achieving the lowest server virtualization TCO

Consolidation through server virtualization is a powerful agent for datacenter change, but...

Achieving the lowest server virtualization Total Cost of Ownership

Consolidation through server virtualization is a powerful agent for datacenter change, but...

Citrix XenDesktop: The Best Desktop Delivery System For Today's Demanding Business Needs

Whether you're considering your first virtual desktop solution or trying to salvage an existing...

Desktop Virtualization: A buyer's checklist

Desktop virtualization should do more than just move desktop management to the datacenter—its real...

Five reasons why you need Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V now

This paper explores common challenges associated with server virtualization deployments and the...

See All White Papers

On The Road Blog

Mobile apps to get pushy, have presenc...

Most of the time, computers sit there waiting for you to ask them to do something. Phones tell you when they have something you care about. Most smartphones are more like a computer... More

Post a comment

Mobile business social network tools c...

The APIs that RIM is opening up for the BlackBerry platform leapfrog what’s available on other mobile platforms, with free push updates, unified advertising and payment options and... More

Post a comment

The Crabble stand for your phone

Sometimes something comes along that is so simple yet so very useful that you can’t believe you didn’t think of it first. The Crabble is one such object. Once upon a time smartphones... More

Post a comment


Skip Sub Navigation Links to CNET Brand Links

Help

Become part of the ZDNet community.

Newsletters