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> Should the ISPs be forced to upgrade their network every time? Come on, they have been doing this since the internet started. And in the beginning of interne
by raarts 12y ago
> Should the ISPs be forced to upgrade their network every time?
Come on, they have been doing this since the internet started. And in the beginning of internet some services were hugely popular as well. Keep in mind that upgrading the network costs money, but once the infrastructure is in place, moving bits is really cheap.
- giovannibajo1 12y agoThe difference is that now there is a single commercial player, with the ability of filling up whatever bandwidth the ISPs allocate for their customer base, with a single switch, and a commercial interest in increasing bandwidth (to improve quality to its subscribers). If Verizon tripled its total bandwidth today, how long before Netflix begins raising the bitrate because "the Internet has evolved and we can now deliver bluray-quality streaming at the same $9/mo?". And then they fill up pipes again. The whole issue here is cause by the impedance between the cost structure (pay by the gig transferred) and the price structure (pay by the peak speed, and I approximate the average gig transferred). In a perfect utopic world where everybody was willing to pay by the gig transferred as that is the real cost factor, we wouldn't be here having this discussion. > moving bits is really cheap. Moving bits is cheap WITHIN the ISP network, but once you go outside they have a cost (depending on the peering agreements).