Comcast Discloses Network Management Practices

Comcast has provided U.S. regulators details of how it plans to change the way it manages Web traffic over its high speed Internet network without blocking any applications or content. The move comes after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted last month to uphold a complaint that Comcast had violated the regulator's open-Internet principles by hindering peer-to-peer traffic from applications such as BitTorrent. Comcast said on Friday that under the plan designed to give all users their "fair share" of bandwidth it would focus on managing the traffic of customers who are using most bandwidth when the network is congested. more»

Comcast Sues FCC, Says Net Neutrality Order Legally Inappropriate

Comcast has filed suit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today in order to block the agency's decision to sanction Comcast for blocking certain Internet traffic. Comcast has released the following statement attributed to David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation... more»

P4P Aims to Solve Bandwidth Challenges

Two professors from the University of Washington and Yale University, presenting at a conference in Seattle today, describe a new and faster data transfer technology across the Internet. Professors Arvind Krishnamurthy and Richard Yang believe their technology offers a better solution to current challenges facing broadband providers. Their algorithm, called P4P or "local file-sharing," finds the shortest path across the Internet by tracking users' locations -- improving both, download speeds by about 20% as well as bandwidth requirements. more»

Comcast Given 30 Days to Disclose Network Management Practices, Says FCC Order

In follow up to August 1st ruling against Comcast, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a 67 page order released today has given Comcast 30 days "to disclose the details of their unreasonable network management practices, submit a compliance plan describing how it intends to stop these unreasonable management practices by the end of the year, and disclose to both the Commission and the public the details of the network management practices that it intends to deploy following termination of its current practices." more»

Thousands of File Sharers Facing Lawsuits in UK

Last month a government-backed deal was struck between Britain's six biggest Internet service providers and the entertainment industry in order to send warning letters to file-sharers. Today it has been reported that thousands of people suspected of sharing music, films and games over the Internet are going to be facing legal action in UK for damages. One law firm, according to Reuters, is going to the High Court to force ISPs to release names and addresses of 7,000 suspected file-sharers and that they have already begun proceedings against several people in Britain. One British woman has been ordered to pay 16,000 pounds for downloading pinball game for free through a file-sharing site. more»

Six Largest ISPs in UK Agree to Send Warning Letters to Illegal Music, Movie Downloaders

The music and film industries have launched a fight back against online piracy today, persuading Britain's six biggest Internet providers, BT, Virgin Media, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse, to send warning letters to those suspected of illegal file-sharing. The plan is aimed at an estimated 6.5 million Britons who have downloaded files illegally over the past year. ISPs had previously argued they were mere conduits and not responsible for content. But they agreed to the deal after the government said it would impose legislation if they did not work to curb illegal file-sharing. more»

European Researchers Introduce Live BitTorrent Streaming, Aim to Replace Traditional Broadcasting

European researchers have launched a beta version of a peer-to-peer streaming video service that is intended to eventually replace traditional broadcasts. This is the latest development from the P2P-Next project which has announced its trial program for streaming live video in true 4th generation P2P system using a zero-server approach. more»

Internet Usage Control Necessary, Says Sandvine

CBC News has an interview with the CEO of Sandvine, a company notorious for providing Internet access providers the technology to manage the amount and type of traffic used by consumers. From the interview, "Q: Some people have a negative view of Sandvine -- one keynote speaker at a security conference last year referred to your company as "evil." How do you react to that perception? A: Here we are, a company founded on improving the quality of the experience of the internet and trying to make the world a better place... One of the biggest ironies is that people who might not be too happy with what we're doing are often the largest benefactors of it." more»

ISPs Will Likely Try Variety of Methods to Deal With P2P Traffic

P2p traffic management was a hot topic at this year's NXTcomm convention in Las Vegas, as keynote speakers and telecom industry panelists highlighted new methods for handling P2P traffic crunches, reports Brad Reed of Network World. Ericsson North America CTO Arun Bhikshesvaran says: "In the end, ISPs are likely to try a wide variety of methods for managing P2P traffic, and users shouldn't expect one method will instantly crop up that will satisfy both their demands and those of the network. It's really more of an evolution of the service provider model than anything else. It's an evolution of the business model, and there will be more to come... hopefully not to the detriment of the users." more»

Canadians Rally for Net Neutrality

Hundreds of protesters are expected to descend on Canada's capital on Tuesday to urge government action on keeping the internet free from interference by service providers. The net neutrality rally is drawing together politicians, labor unions, consumer groups and internet activists, with protesters being bused in from several locations including Toronto and Montreal. At issue are the actions of big ISPs such as Bell Canada Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., who have been slowing down the internet speeds of customers using certain applications, such as peer-to-peer software used for file sharing. more»

Telcos Must Become Major Destination Websites, Says Sun Chairman

Telecommunication companies need to go beyond just providing bandwidth and look into acquiring Internet destination sites that are heavily trafficked, Sun Chairman Scott McNealy said on Friday. "I have explained to every telco that either you become a destination site, or the destination site will become a telco," McNealy said at a news conference at Sun's Worldwide Education and Research Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday... more»

Internet Traffic to Reach a Zettabyte by 2015, Says Study

A recent report released by the Discovery Institute estimates that by 2015, U.S. IP traffic could reach an annual total of one zettabyte (1021 bytes), or one million million billion bytes. From YouTube, IPTV, and high-definition images, to "cloud computing" and ubiquitous mobile cameras, 3D games, virtual worlds, and photorealistic telepresence, the new wave is swelling into an exaflood of Internet and IP traffic. more»

Web Traffic Overtakes P2P as Largest Bandwidth on the Network

After more than four years during which peer-to-peer (P2P) applications have overwhelmingly consumed the largest percentage of bandwidth on the network, HTTP (Web) traffic has overtaken P2P and continues to grow says a report released by Ellacoya Networks. These findings are based on usage data of approximately one million broadband subscribers in North America. more»

New Wave of Illegal Activity Breed of So-Called P2P Worm

Massive networks of infected computers controlled by attackers worldwide will serve as a powerful engine for the new breed of so-called P2P worm that is currently echoing across cyberspace.

Security experts have predicted over the last several years that botnets of hijacked PCs would pose one of the staunchest challenges faced by the IT community as criminals discovered new ways to use them to deliver attacks. more»

Internet Out of IPv4 Addresses by 2012, the Consultancy Says

The growing popularity of smartphones, IPTV and other gadgets connecting to the Internet is eating up real estate on the net, and soon techies can expect cyberspace to run out of room, according to a Frost & Sullivan analyst briefing Thursday.

Experts say today's Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) also limits services of multimedia content and data communication, including mobile IP, P2P and video calls. With new mobile IPv6, telecommunication providers can easily roll out custom services from movies to ring tones to television. more»