A Gated Internet

Yahoo! News ^ | 2 February 2006 | Anush Yegyazarian

[unixfox]

Wow, now we can all pay for getting our spam, viruses and pop-ups even faster!

[BenLurkin]

Why is it that anything that crowd sets out to "reform" is always a raw deal for good Americans?

[Political Junkie Too]

This sounds like extortion.

"You don't want nuttin' to happen to your business, now do ya? Alls you gotsa to do is pay us a little protection premium, and we'll keep your business running smoothly."

-PJ

[Old Professer]

Somehow your post reminds of the Happy Cows commercial where the bulls are betting on the cow race.

[Old Professer]

I'm paying an extra $10 month for guaranteed highest available speed on Comcast, but I really can't tell any difference at most sites.

[Calpernia]

Well said.

[Calpernia]

That is because the rate the packets travel now are the same.

You data connection has nothing to do with how someone else's website performs.

It depends on:

1 - how fast your computer is

2 - the bandwidth allotment of the server/host package where your website is hosted

3 - the design of the website (high graphics/media)

4 - browser enabled to receive content (java block?)



This is a lot of talk to add a surcharge onto net access.

[LiberationIT]

This is similar to the Automotive Network Exchange (ANX) and the similar ENX and JNX. Used by the auto companies, it's the Internet standard with performance guarantees.

[Still Thinking]

This just in: Bill Gates the Internet!
("Internet Copyright Al Gore 1980")

[steve-b]

One of the questions on the table is whether to allow telecoms to prioritize packets in this way, or to keep Internet traffic neutral and make it illegal for them to do so.

The telecoms benefited from monopoly franchise rights. Part of the price for that is giving up the option to discriminate between customers in this manner.

Simple, really.

[ShadowAce]

Simple, really.

For you, me and most other rational people.

Simple for telecoms and politicians? Hmmm...

[Old Professer]

I know that; the only reason I do it is to get priority on my end.

[Still Thinking]

I'm paying an extra $10 month for guaranteed highest available speed on Comcast, but I really can't tell any difference at most sites.

"guaranteed highest available speed"??? Isn't that a meaningless phrase? Kind of like the "all you can eat for $10 buffet". After two hours the owner throws out a gluttonous customer who objects, saying "But I thought it was all you could eat for $10". The proprietor replies "Well, that's all you can eat for $10"!