Does Your Internet Connection Seem Slow?
If you're noticing slowdowns while online, the culprit could be "bandwidth (or traffic) shaping." Most internet service providers don't like to talk about it, but it's the most recent way of dealing with people using a lot of bandwidth during peak periods.
When we old timers were on the 'Net back in the early '90s, we were mostly sending text e-mails or looking for text documents with Gopher. It all seemed very exciting at the time -- of course, we also thought Ross Perot was exciting. But these days, online users want to watch a YouTube video while accessing e-mail, sending instant messages and talking on the digital phone, all at the same time.
It's a lot for one little twisted copper wire to handle on a DSL connection -- but it can be a bigger problem for a cable company if 200 people in your neighborhood are all using the same fiber-fed broadband connection at the same time. Thus, we have bandwidth shaping, as Internet expert Bill Thompson explains in this BBC article.
"They do this because they have a limited capacity to deliver to 100 or 200 homes, and if everybody's using the internet at the same time then the whole thing starts to get congested. Before that happens they cut back on the heavy users."
Broadbandreports.com has posted an e-mail that a Time Warner customer says he received this month, detailing how his Road Runner service is going to handle bandwidth hogs.
So here's my question: ISPs are always trying to get you to pay extra for premium services so you can have more bandwidth. Does this now mean that by purchasing this kind of package, you open yourself up to being virtually slapped on the wrist for your 'Net habits?
10:00 AM ET | 06-18-2007 | permalink
