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Who Pays for Rebuilding the Internet?

pcause writes "The Internet (physical as opposed to technical) was really not designed for applications that want to use maximum bandwidth all of the time, such as P2P and streaming video. Here in the US we've seen Comcast try to balance the demands of P2P traffic with other traffic and its backbone capacity. In the UK, a flame war has broken out between the BBC and ISPs about the same issue. So the question is who pays? Should the content owners who make the profits pay for the extra infrastructure, or should the consumer pay?"

3 of 473 comments (clear)

  1. Just in case you thought Comcast cared about IP by Kylere · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    This makes it clear exactly what the problem is with Bit torrent in the mind of Comcast and other ISP's. It is like getting a car on an unlimited mileage lease and then being screamed at for driving it too much. Simply unacceptable.

    What I find most amusing is they will charge you more for higher speeds, and still maintain the same hidden bandwidth caps. I am glad to know that British ISP's are ran by the same kind of wankers that run US providers.

  2. Re:Better question by tverbeek · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Because the Market is not the all-wise, all-powerful God that mainstream economist-priests claim it to be?

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  3. didn't we already pay for this once already? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    god damn it.. I'm reasonably sure the tax payers already paid a bunch of money for fiber infrastructure that companies pocketed and failed to build

    NATIONALIZE THE INTERNET... NOW! and add an amendment to the Constitution that mandates a right to free and unrestricted access to information to all citizens.

    fucking corporations have ruined everything it is time for the people to take the power away from corporations.

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