So I subscribe to a few of ZDNet’s newsletters & blogs, and in my inbox was a headline that said “AT&T: Internet to hit full capacity by 2010″. Naturally, being a developer myself, this peaked my interest. So I started reading. There were two subjects that really stood out to me. One subject dealing with the title, but another one that I’ve been hearing bit’s of rumors here and there, but wasn’t sure if it was true.
Andrew Donoghue of ZDNet UK said the following:
Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.
Which I’ve thought about often, how much more the current infrastructure (I.E. servers, backbone (internet cable and wires), organization of systems & protocols, etc) will be able to hold out as the user’s hunger for online video increases.
Think about it, the idea of renting video’s online & downloading it to play on your entertainment system of choice (Steve Job’s talked about this in one of his keynotes for a feature in the newly updated Apple TV), is good one. Not only that, but now you can watch YouTube Vid’s in Hi Def – or at least in it’s original uploaded quality (A whole different post for this guy).
Cicconi added that more demand for high-definition video will put an increasing strain on the Internet infrastructure. “Eight hours of video is loaded onto YouTube every minute. Everything will become HD very soon, and HD is 7 to 10 times more bandwidth-hungry than typical video today. Video will be 80 percent of all traffic by 2010, up from 30 percent today,” he said.
Then comes the next subject that I was totally not expecting, but was glad he covered it. It’s in regards to “Net Neutrality”.
Net neutrality refers to an ongoing campaign calling for governments to legislate to prevent Internet service providers from charging content providers for prioritization of their traffic. The debate is more heated in the United States than in the United Kingdom because there is less competition between ISPs in the States.
Content creators argue that Net neutrality should be legislated in order to protect consumers and keep all Internet traffic equal. Network operators and service providers argue that the Internet is already unequal, and certain types of traffic–VoIP, for example–require prioritization by default.
Meaning, there’s been increasing concern & even fear that the ISP’s (Internet Service Providers – like Midco, Comcast, AT&T, etc.) will start limiting what can & can’t be viewed on the interent. Also that, these companies will give priority to larger companies – over the little guys. Even some rumors say that the internet will become like the TV / Cable system of today. You have your basic free service, your basic cable, your upgraded cable, your Hi Def cable and then satalite or anything else out there – only it will be for the internet
Personally, I’ll have to wait and see, i think some of these rumor’s are nothing to worry about, but there is not doubt, there will have to be a change in the way the internet works with the increase demand for user content.
~tim
ZDNet’s full article can be viewed at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6237715.html?tag=nl.e550
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