AT&T?s announcement that it would start to throttle the ?heaviest users? on its wireless network is only the latest in a series of developments that place the idea of a thriving, useful Internet at risk. (This is the same AT&T that wants to spend $39 billion buying competitor T-Mobile, rather than fix up its network.)
No one knows why rationing schemes like data caps are triggered, what they are supposed to do, much less if they are successful. Serious doubts have been raised whether caps are necessary at all to manage networks or to cover costs from increased Internet use. But consumers who wants to use the Internet more are the ones who will suffer.
Some institutions, like the New York Times editorial page, the news pages of the Washington Post, and Canadian regulators, are paying attention. Some institutions, like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), are not.
Over the couple of weeks, the stories have swirled around each other, two seemingly unrelated threads which in reality more in common than might appear obvious.
Let?s call the first thread the ?use it? thread. These are new deals that are being announced seemingly every day. Amazon, for example, is expanding its streaming business in a challenge to Netflix, signing deals with NBC and CBS to add thousands of new shows to its catalog. Netflix, by splitting its DVD business from the video streaming, is emphasizing the online part of its offerings. The Sundance Institute, which produces the famous film fest and has its own channel, signed a deal to expand its streaming universe to include Amazon, iTunes, Netflix and other outlets.
Wireless companies are aggressively advertising devices new tablets to watch video at high speeds and programmers like HBO are pushing customers to watch their TV not only on a traditional TV but also on tablet devices from any number of manufacturers.
The idea that a customer can watch a show at any time on any device is gaining acceptance (even as Hulu is mired in self-immolation through the intransigence of its owners about who can watch what when).
Meanwhile, Amazon, Google and other companies earlier this year started ?cloud? storage services to compete with existing companies like Dropbox, Sugarsync, Mozy or Carbonite, among others. There are consumer versions and corporate versions, but the idea is the same ? instead of keeping information locally on servers, data is kept remotely and can be retrieved from anywhere via the Web. This is developing into a good business for many companies.
On the other hand, there is the second thread, which we?ll call the ?lose it? thread. These are the counterpoint to the first. The ?use it? group is filled with a vibrant, diverse group of companies, large and small, that are fulfilling their entrepreneurial visions in creating new businesses and new opportunities.
The ?lose it? crowd couldn?t be more different, consisting of some of the largest companies in the world, which offer, and control, the means by which all of those other services can be offered and the means by which they can be choked off and have their futures put in jeopardy. AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are already imposing rationing on their Internet services, a combination of caps and ?throttling? for those who ?use? more bandwidth than they are supposed to be using as calculated by some magic formula.
One group creates new businesses and opportunities; the other has the potential to choke them off and to make sure charges for consumers who use all those new devices to watch movies or TV or play games will go through the roof.
The prime example of the stifling affect of these policies is Andre Vrignaud, a Seattle gaming consultant who was kicked off of Comcast?s Internet system because he exceeded his ?usage? not by downloading music or videos, but by uploading material to a remote storage service.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com
Source: http://www.allword-news.co.uk/2011/08/03/internet-rationing-latest-threat-to-watching-video-online/
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