TWO TIER INTERNET DEBATE CONFUSES SERVICE DELIVERY ISSUES WITH INHERENT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE LIMITATIONS, SAYS PACKETEXCHANGE
2006-03-15
PacketExchange, has hit back at proponents of a two tier internet system, on the basis that the debate surrounding the ‘end of egalitarianism‘ should not be confused with the industry-wide need to overcome the performance limitations of the Internet as we know it.
These comments were set against a backdrop debate, where the overall suitability of the Internet as a business tool has been repeatedly called into question by experts. Following a decade of commercial organisations investing heavily in web-based systems, the basic infrastructure of the Internet remains unchanged, the system overloaded and (in the opinion of many) is close to breaking point. This scenario is contributing to the need for ISPs to adopt progressively more advanced means to overcome congestion impacting on the delivery of content to end users, and to cope with the explosion of online cyber extortion attempts and security breeches.
PacketExchange CEO Kieron O‘Brien explains:
“There seems to be wholesale confusion in the market over what a two tier Internet really means and what it could achieve. When you look closely at the private Internet solutions top level ISPs and content providers use to bypass delays in content delivery to end users, a two tier Internet is very much a commercial reality – indeed a ‘business class‘ Internet for the future is very much the way things are going.
“ISP accountability for the quality of content and copyright infringement is a different and far more complex issue that results form the way today‘s Internet is built. Effectively, service providers have little control over access, even with the use of high-tech filters – prioritising their own traffic over that of others is one way to achieve improved control. However, this is expensive and it is no wonder that costs will be eventually passed on to end users. Instead of grumbling that ISPs are getting some form of preferential treatment against the founding principles of the Internet, it is about time that we realised that the system is effectively breaking and needs an industry-wide solution.”
