worth reading "A Piece of the Action" (was: Charging "content providers" ...)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: January 17, 2006 2:21:48 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: "A Piece of the Action" (was: Charging "content providers" ...)


Dave,

Let's be really clear about what's being talked about here.  First,
if BellSouth gets away with this, the content providers (and by
extension the customers of those content providers, who will
ultimately foot the bill) will have to similarly deal with all of the
ISPs, phone companies, exchange points, and other entities around the
world who want their individual "pieces of the action."

Many end users may not see any improvements, since the overall
bandwidth they get is dependent not only on (for example) the speeds
that BellSouth supplies to the distant content providers who are not
their customers, but also on the subscriber line speeds, subscribers'
individual computer speeds/capabilities, etc.--that is, the *overall
bandwidth end-to-end*.  A big pipe from BellSouth does no good if
everything else along the line isn't up to the same capacity.  Like
water through hoses, the maximum flow rate is determined by the
narrowest points.

And remember, what appears to be under discussion here is not really
providing *additional* bandwidth -- rather, these appear to be
offers not to *restrict* available bandwidth, said restrictions of
course subject to revisions and additional charges when it's deemed
desirable to squeeze more money out of the content providers or others.

I would not assert that BellSouth is necessarily doing anything
illegal in this regard under *current* law.  But in the non-telecom
world, there's a term for demanding money in exchange for refraining
from disrupting or restricting the commerce of those whose profits
you would like to share.  It's called "selling protection" -- and it
was honed to a fine art by Al Capone and his ilk in Old Chicago.

The IOIC (International Open Internet Coalition
- http://www.ioic.net ) project which you, Peter Neumann, and I
have recently announced, hopes to address many of these related
issues directly, of course.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
   - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com

 - - -

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: DV Henkel-Wallace <gumby () henkel-wallace org>
> Date: January 17, 2006 1:37:30 PM EST
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Charging "content providers" is now beginning.
>
> Dave,
>
> So now it begins.
>
> I'm especially disappointed that Cuban gets this wrong.
>
> -d
>
>
>
> BellSouth wants new Net fees
> http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B02432D2D-1EE0-4037-
> A15F-54B748D6CF26%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=
>
> By Frank Barnako, MarketWatch
> Last Update: 4:40 PM ET Jan. 16, 2006
>
> WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- BellSouth Corp. confirmed Monday that it
> is pursuing discussions with Internet content companies to levy
> charges to reliably and speedily deliver their content and services.
>
> Bill Smith, chief technology officer at BellSouth justified content
> charging companies by saying they are using the telco's network
> without paying for it.
>
> "Higher usage for broadband services drives more costs that we have
> to recover," he said in a telephone interview.
>
>   He suggested that Apple Computer might be asked to pay a nickel or
> a dime to insure the complete and rapid transmission of a song via
> the Internet, which is being used for more and more content-intensive
> purposes. He cited Yahoo Inc.'s plans to stream reality TV shows as
> an example.
>
> "It's the shipping business of the digital age," Smith said, arguing
> that consumers should welcome the pay-for-delivery concept.
>
>   BellSouth has discussed its idea with MovieLink, a film-download
> service. He called MovieLink an example of the kind of company that
> wants customers to have a good experience and would view costs
> incurred in the strengthening of BellSouth's Internet capacity as
> worthwhile. Smith also said online game companies are likely
> candidates for charges.
>
> Over the weekend, Internet entrepreneur and NBA team owner Mark Cuban
> wrote on his blog at BlogMaverick.com that such fees are critical to
> the survival of the Internet. "Our ability to consume bandwidth is
> growing far, far faster than the speed at which it is being added,"
> he said. "The more bandwidth we consume, the more Internet traffic
> jams we have."
>
> Cuban wants telephone and cable and wireless companies to work out a
> way to deliver traffic at various levels of service quality. "Yes,
> that will mean some content will cost more if we want it faster," he
> conceded. "But that will be our choice."
>
>
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