Congestion Ahead
Page: 22,
Date: 07/19/2008
Full Text:
Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are predicting that the Internet may soon break down. In a recent survey, 51% of ISPs think that the current rise of demand for bandwith will overwhelm the Internet. A quarter of those who said so believe this will take place in the next two years. This is a serious problem, especially for the music industry. With digital downloads on the verge of eclipsing physical sales, as well as being a great way to discover new music and more, the music industry cannot afford to lose the Internet as a form of monetization. Streaming video and illegal downloading of large music files over BitTorrent trackers are blamed to be the main culprits of the bandwith problems. Many different ISPs have presented possible solutions, but none are very popular with all interest groups. One possible solution presented to charge media companies and Web services premium fees for guaranteed fast lanes to their content. The Net neutrality movement has already lobbied for this to be outlawed, saying it will edge out smaller companies and turn the Internet into TV. Another option is traffic prioritization, where ISPs monitor what kind of content users are accessing with "deep packet inspection", where they delay certain types of traffic to clear lanes for more important information. Comcast had problems with this earlier in the year when they delayed BitTorrent traffic. BitTorrent may be used to download illegal files, but the program is used for legitimate purposes as well and Comcast underwent an FCC investigation. Even if Comcast saw if the content was illegal or not, there still would have been a backlash. Tiered pricing systems, where you pay more for more bandwith is another option. According to some, this is only a way to restrict traffic artificially to fit more customers into the network and raise prices. It is also a problem in areas where there is only one ISP. Ultimately, a solution will have to come soon and it will surely have a profound effect on the music industry and how it monetizes the Internet.
