Re: U.S. Finance Sector Weighs In on Net Neutrality

[Greg Poirier <grep () reflexsecurity com>]

On Wed, 2006-05-03 at 15:47 -0400, Dude VanWinkle wrote:
> So the internet is really made up of:
>
> 360networks
> AboveNet
<snip>
> Xspedius

Yes.

> So comcast sells client access to the pipe they lease from Quest. This
> connection would not be messed with, however if Google has a pipe on
> Telstra, they may rate limit packets from Quest to Google in order to
> force google to pay more bucks.
>
> Is that right? does it matter if google leases a pipe from Quest
> rather than Telstra?

No, because the point at which they're rate-limiting is before the
packets ever hit Qwest.  The rate-limiting would occur within Comcast's
network since Comcast owns everything from their border routers to the
client they're selling Internet connectivity to.

> What to stop ISPx from not rate limiting at all and getting the big
> content providers (google) to switch to their networks, as well as the
> big end user bandwidth resellers (comcast)?

What you're starting to describe is the best case scenario.

ISP X tells Google to pony up the dough, Google refuses and stops
peering/buying bandwidth from ISP X.

ISP Y offers Google a sweet deal, so Google switches over there and
enjoys unfettered access to ISP Y's subscribers.

ISP X's subscribers cancel their memberships for ISP Y because they
can't live without Google.

Unfortunately at the level we're talking, ISP X and ISP Y are probably
so well interconnected that it will cost Google more to shift things
around, possibly running them into the ground in the process, than to
pony up the dough.

> Will wireless technologies save us from the ISP's and this is just
> their death throes (remember the price of Kodak film just before the
> digital camera?)?

Wireless providers stand to make money off of this as well.  It's in
their best interest to charge Google money too.

-- 
Greg Poirier    | Reflex Security, Inc.
Sigma Team      | Network Security.  Simplified.

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