Telecom policy not enforceable

By JUHA SAARINEN


Telecom is unable to enforce its policy of only allocating dynamic Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for residential Jetstream customers' connections, due to an unspecified problem.

A dynamic IP address changes periodically and with each log in to the network, as opposed to a static address that is always the same for a particular connection.

Having the same static IP address makes it easier to locate you on the internet. They are favoured by customers wanting to serve up content, run services or virtual private networking applications.

The IP allocation issue came to light after an internet provider, which wishes to remain unnamed, contacted the Herald to say that a customer on Jetstream Surf ended up going through another New Zealand provider's network.

He had been given the wrong dynamic IP address by Telecom's servers when connecting up his Jetstream service, one which had been allocated to a different provider.

This meant he was unable to use his internet provider's services, such as email and secure connections. However, he could use the other provider's services, as he was now on its network though not its customer.

Telecom public relations manager Katrina King confirmed that the problem existed.

She said that normally, if a customer had a dynamic IP address, "the internal Telecom part of the authentication process will itself choose and assign an IP address to the customer from a pool of available addresses".

However, King added that "at present, though, Telecom cannot do this correctly, so we have allowed internet providers to break the 'no static IP' rule" and assign their own static IP addresses.

As part of Telecom's dynamic-only addresses policy, it also issued a ban on customers running "servers" on its Jetstream Starter, Home and Surf DSL connections.

In internet parlance, a server can be any application listening for requests over a network. King, when asked how Telecom defined a "server", said that "a server is an often unattended application that remotely answers requests from other computers (such as a mail server, web server or gaming server)".

Such a broad definition catches network applications included in every modern desktop operating system. It also snares Jetstream customers wanting to host games on internet-enabled consoles.

Asked to further clarify the definition, Telecom's head of internet and online marketing, Chris Thompson, would say only that it "is a wide definition because servers can take many different forms".

A Microsoft staffer, who wished to remain unnamed, expressed surprise at the new rule.

Microsoft and Xtra have worked together on Xbox Live, a gaming service that allows players to connect over the internet. Part of this service entails hosting games that other players can connect to, an act that appears to breach Telecom "no servers" rule.

However, despite the apparent ban on arbitrary servers on Jetstream Surf and Home connections, King expanded in a later email that "we support online games on our Surf and Home plans". This would seem to exclude Telecom's Jetstream Starter service, which King said did not "support static IPs or servers".