American Internet Access Destined for Meltdown?
Internet users have become accustomed to the idea of things getting faster as time goes on, but a warning from analyst firm Nemertes Research Group is raising fears that within three to five years, Internet access in the Americas could actually get slower. Much, much slower.
The reason for the fears, which some are calling a 'meltdown,' is simply the popularity of the Internet. As anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows, the Internet has become nearly ubiquitous in American households over those last ten years. The global network connections that bridge access between countries, called backbones, are said to have plenty of bandwidth to support the expected growth. However, the infrastructure that fills in those gaps -- actually bringing connectivity into your home -- is said to be woefully lacking to maintain this growth in Internet popularity.
Add in the increasing demand many are placing on their Internet providers by using bandwidth hungry apps like peer-to-peer file sharing, and you have a problem. It's this sort of pressure that has led providers like Comcast to attempt to throttle the bandwidth usage by some of its customers, leading to irate customers, lawsuits, and plenty of bad PR.
Expect more providers to start implementing these sorts of changes as they struggle to cope with increasing demand, and expect higher prices from those who don't resort to those restrictions.
From NewsVine
Related Links:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lux Magna @ Nov 20th 2007 12:23PM
cough cough Bullshi* cough
No ISP wants you to have slow service, or you will switch providers. ISPs are now going to a no contract model of service because of the competition. ATT now offers no contract DSL. Comcast has always offered no contract Internet service. Local providers are beginning to gain strength again and offer serious competition. Wireless carriers are getting faster also. This press release by Nemertes Research Group is a load of hooey to get their name in the paper.
There is no money to be made in telling people "everything is working fine".
Mario @ Nov 27th 2007 1:55PM
Many years ago the U.S. Government gave AT&T multipal millions of dollars in a contract to install fiber optics to the entire nation. AT&T chose to keep the money, but NOT the install the cable. They have and are still trying to position themselves so that everyone trying to access the internet would be forced to go through them first. They want even more money. AT&T is way behind schedule and they are getting paid double for the same work. Around that same time period, governments in places like Singapore and Malaysia were also installing fiber optics for every citizen's household. That is why some small cities in Louisianna started to create thier own local fiber optic networks. With those successes, AT&T has gotten scared of loosing money.
That is why ATT now offers no contract DSL. Comcast has always offered no contract Internet service. Local providers are beginning to gain strength again and offer serious competition. Wireless carriers are getting faster also.