[nycwireless] BellSouth wants new Net Fees
Posted on: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/2006/01/17/bellsouth- wants-new-net-fees-2/ According to an article on MarketWatch (http://www.marketwatch.com/ news/story.asp?guid=%7B02432D2D-1EE0-4037-A15F-54B748D6CF26%7D): BellSouth Corp. confirmed Monday that it is pursuing discussions with Internet content companies to levy charges to reliably and speedily deliver their content and services. Bill Smith, chief technology officer at BellSouth, justified content charging companies by saying they are using the telco’s network without paying for it. Higher usage for broadband services drives more costs that we have to recover, he said in a telephone interview. He suggested that Apple Computer might be asked to pay a nickel or a dime to insure the complete and rapid transmission of a song via the Internet, which is being used for more and more content-intensive purposes. He cited Yahoo Inc.’s plans to stream reality TV shows as an example. It’s the shipping business of the digital age, Smith said, arguing that consumers should welcome the pay-for-delivery concept. So, let me get this straight. Right now, I buy my internet service from an ISP, and while that ISP doesn’t guarantee that I will be able to access every single site, they do ensure that I am able to get onto the internet completely, and that any generally available web page will be available to me. This is the definition of how the internet works. This also means that if Apple’s iTunes online store is online and generally accessible, it will be accessible to me just like anyone else on the internet. Now, Bill Smith and BellSouth are saying that, maybe, if I use BellSouth as my ISP, I won’t be able to get at any generally available internet site that hasn’t paid them to access their network— a network for which I’m already paying a monthly fee. They are saying that, just because I’ve paid them $50 or $100 for internet access, that this fee doesn’t give me access to the internet in general? They are saying that, once I’ve paid them to access their “pipes”, that I should have no expectation to be able to get to any website that I want, or get service from a third party at best-effort broadband speeds? Normally, such a statement is just hot air, since BellSouth just provides the last mile. But they are the provider of most internet connections in the southeast. And Verizon and ATT (SBC) have been saying the same thing, and they actually control the pipes that make up the infrastructure of the internet. So, if Apple doesn’t play along, does that mean that Verizon and ATT will start refusing to carry their traffic on the internet’s backbone, thereby affecting many more people than just Verizon and ATT customers? Seems like this is a great time for the FTC (not even the FCC) to step in. If this were any other industry, this would be considered extortion and racketeering, both very serious crimes in our country. Dana Spiegel Executive Director NYCwireless [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.NYCwireless.net +1 917 402 0422 Read the Wireless Community blog: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
Re: [nycwireless] BellSouth wants new Net Fees
Getting your broadband provider to support the NYCwireless Network Neutrality Broadband Challenge is becoming more important with each passing day. If your a independent broadband provider that wants to allow customers unfettered access to the content of their choosing please visit our challenge homepage right away. http://www.nycwireless.net/tiki-index.php?page=BroadbandChallenge My provider is Speakeasy.net... hello anyone listening at Speakeasy? So far only our friends Bway.net have responded. Keep an eye on the result on our scorecard page: http://www.nycwireless.net/tiki-index.php?page=BroadbandChallengeScoreCard. - Dustin - Dana Spiegel wrote: Posted on: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/2006/01/17/bellsouth- wants-new-net-fees-2/ According to an article on MarketWatch (http://www.marketwatch.com/ news/story.asp?guid=%7B02432D2D-1EE0-4037-A15F-54B748D6CF26%7D): BellSouth Corp. confirmed Monday that it is pursuing discussions with Internet content companies to levy charges to reliably and speedily deliver their content and services. Bill Smith, chief technology officer at BellSouth, justified content charging companies by saying they are using the telco’s network without paying for it. Higher usage for broadband services drives more costs that we have to recover, he said in a telephone interview. He suggested that Apple Computer might be asked to pay a nickel or a dime to insure the complete and rapid transmission of a song via the Internet, which is being used for more and more content-intensive purposes. He cited Yahoo Inc.’s plans to stream reality TV shows as an example. It’s the shipping business of the digital age, Smith said, arguing that consumers should welcome the pay-for-delivery concept. So, let me get this straight. Right now, I buy my internet service from an ISP, and while that ISP doesn’t guarantee that I will be able to access every single site, they do ensure that I am able to get onto the internet completely, and that any generally available web page will be available to me. This is the definition of how the internet works. This also means that if Apple’s iTunes online store is online and generally accessible, it will be accessible to me just like anyone else on the internet. Now, Bill Smith and BellSouth are saying that, maybe, if I use BellSouth as my ISP, I won’t be able to get at any generally available internet site that hasn’t paid them to access their network— a network for which I’m already paying a monthly fee. They are saying that, just because I’ve paid them $50 or $100 for internet access, that this fee doesn’t give me access to the internet in general? They are saying that, once I’ve paid them to access their “pipes”, that I should have no expectation to be able to get to any website that I want, or get service from a third party at best-effort broadband speeds? Normally, such a statement is just hot air, since BellSouth just provides the last mile. But they are the provider of most internet connections in the southeast. And Verizon and ATT (SBC) have been saying the same thing, and they actually control the pipes that make up the infrastructure of the internet. So, if Apple doesn’t play along, does that mean that Verizon and ATT will start refusing to carry their traffic on the internet’s backbone, thereby affecting many more people than just Verizon and ATT customers? Seems like this is a great time for the FTC (not even the FCC) to step in. If this were any other industry, this would be considered extortion and racketeering, both very serious crimes in our country. Dana Spiegel Executive Director NYCwireless [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.NYCwireless.net +1 917 402 0422 Read the Wireless Community blog: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/ -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
