KEY POINTS:
The whole net neutrality argument I explored in my Webwalk column in the Herald today is steamrolling on in the US, with the New York Attorney General's office issuing a subpoena to cable operator Comcast seeking clearer answers on how it manages data on its
network.
Comcast has 13 million customers, a staggering number and it is easy to imagine a handful of those customers are likely to be the type of massive bandwidth hogs who have terabytes of movies sitting on hard drives in their homes.
But there's growing scrutiny of the broadband provider's traffic management techniques in general as it relates to average Comcast subscribers and I'm sure other ISPs will be drawn into the fray.
But what about over here? I think many Kiwis take it for granted that ISPs are doing some sort of restricting of file-sharing services, particularly in peak usage times.
Anecdotal evidence suggest traffic-shaping and port filtering is common among New Zealand ISPs and the methods used and reasons given on a whole don't seem to be transparent.
But the issue isn't as contentious here because the bulk of broadband users are subject to some sort of data cap after which their connection speed is throttled back to 56Kbps.
So an ISP is likely to tolerate a fair bit of file-sharing in the knowledge that eventually you're going to hit your cap and run out of capacity to download big video files.
I'm on the old, discontinued Telecom Go Large plan which allows for unlimited downloads but there's nothing in Telecom's terms and conditions about restrictions of certain types of data.
I get pretty average performance on file-sharing networks, which appear to be down to the limitations of the connection itself rather than any discriminatory traffic-management techniques, though I don't know that for sure.
Still, web forums are at times full of debate on this topic as more tech-savvy broadband users are constantly pointing out quirks in data flows they attribute to traffic shaping.
Several readers have also emailed me pointing to very specific examples of ISPs restricting internet traffic.
Dean writes: "I already know of one local ISP that is blocking an IP address of a server located within another local ISP's data centre.
"The server host's queried the blocking ISP as to why all customers of that ISP are blocked from that particular IP/Site and the response was 'it's running a DC++ hub'."
A DC++ hub is used for file-sharing, but as Dean points out, that doesn't make it automatically an illegal service.
As Ken points out, there's also the gradual legitimisation of file-sharing networks to consider as countries around the world begin to consider making ISPs responsible for stopping illegal file-sharing:
"With regard to ISPs becoming digital cops, lawmakers have their work cut out for them. A relative who was instrumental in some prosecutions along these lines and consults to the music industry suggests that it will become harder and harder even for the copyright holders to unsuccessfully prosecute for copy write infringement as a number of the larger institutions are now using Facebook and Myspace trailers...to promote songs. One such deal involved a revenue sharing agreement which was signed even as the website was being taken to court by the record label for allowing file sharing."
Take Vuze for instance, the company probably still better known by its previous title Azureus.
It provides client software that taps into the BitTorrent network, which is rife with illegally traded material. But Vuze has also made agreements with numerous media companies to feature clips of their TV shows through the Vuze client and has become a bit of a specialist at delivering high-definition video over peer-to-peer networking.
So the company is still associated with the black market but dubs itself an "open entertainment platform" and offers up a lot of legitimate content.
What are your thoughts on ISPs taking steps to restrict file-sharing traffic? Is it a legitimate measure to protect the interests of broadband users or do New Zealand ISPs deserve the sort of scrutiny Comcast is getting in the US?
