@David Wilson
>Strange argument there - when you buy a router, you're buying hardware, and once you've bought it, it doesn't cost the manufacturer any more if you use it all day, or for an hour a month.
as opposed to - When you install a fibre, your installing hardware, and once its running, it doesn't cost the service provider any more if the laser blinks once or twice.
Does it still sound strange?
>The 'resource' you're paying for is use of [clearly physically limited] bandwidth. You're not paying anything for 'data', but for the transportation of data from one place to another.
Would you not say that the '[physically limited] bandwidth' was the 'capacity' or 'speed' of the network? as defined by the capability of the [phyisically limited] fibre connections?
What we need to do is understand that the internet is a network. lets treat them the same, with common metrics... whether that be 10Mbit Coaxial ,100Mbit twisted pairs or 1.5Mbit ADSL or 24Mbit ADSL2+
>Most ISPs quite evidently *don't* need to have anything like that capacity
So why is it the users fault? inparticular say Bittorrnet users?
>most home broadband users aren't interested in and/or prepared to pay for unlimited uncontended access.
Not Interested in? then why this article? They are interested when it doesn't work.
>For a start, there are all the people already on bandwidth-limited plans.
Yes you are correct, the limited plans are desigend for restricted use, although they all use at the peak time! somehow the capacity increases at peak? if not then the restriciton method is flawed/daft.
>Then there are the people who have 'unlimited' plans, but aren't anywhere near making full use of them.
That is the nub of the issue ISP's sell unlimited and somehow, as the tilte says, its say Bittorrents fault that Voip and Gamers suffer...
In the good old days did anyone ever hear of an 'unlimited' party line? No it was clear 'Party' meant Shared.
50:1 contention should never be sold unlimited! it is a diservice to the ISP's customers when someone does 'make full use' of what they've paid for. but you cant blame them.
IF you want cheap and shared then it should be sold that way.
As for ME... I pay for the top package available, I expect to be able to use what I pay for, and when I do I dont expect my neighbours to suffer. I expect that MY ISP is treating us all fairly and providing what they claim to be selling us. AND if at peak periods the capacity is insufficent I expect us all to get an even share, (perhaps a token bucket filter?), it should not be possible for one customer to use everyone elses share as this article suggests.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
