::Sigh:: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Spanish-ISP-Aint-Gonna-Let-Google-Ride-Their-Pipes-For-Free-106816
To summarize, a Spanish ISP wants Google to pay when its customers access Google. Customers already pay for internet access, but they also want money from the servers on the other end.
When are ISP's gonna get that they have nothing to offer? Let me explain: Once upon a time, your ISP provided you with many thing, including email, web space, gopher access, newsgroup access, and finally, HTTP access to other servers. These days, your ISP provides you nothing but a pipe to the places that actually provide content, like Google. I'm sure many of you know people who entirely use Google's services for everything, and it doesn't matter where they get their internet from. In the user's eyes, they're paying buckets of money so that they can get to the Googles and Facebooks out there.
If the content providers all banded together and consolidated their clout, they could have the ISPs quaking in fear and BEGGING for Net Neutrality. My proposal is this: All the major content providers make a pact that if any ISP demands payment for their customer's access to them, they ALL completely and immediately block the entire ISP. Suddenly, the 60 bucks a month their customers are paying doesn't do anything. They can't get to the stuff that they want. No Google, no Myspace, No Facebook, and to the customer, no internet.
Surely then they will simply access all the quality content and useful services that their ISPs provide...ohh wait, they don't have any of those things. The real power isn't in the hands of the ISPs, who could easily be replaced with another provider. DSL is cable is FIOS is 3G is Wimax, and the tight monopolies are waning. The real power is in the hands of the people who could decimate your subscriber numbers overnight with a routing change.
Guerilla internet warfare. This would be devious indeed. Think of all the other uses for it.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, this isn't something that they should start charging for, because of the huge chain reaction it would have. everyone would start demanding the same thing.