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AT&T Could Cut Off P2P Users
malign noted that AT&T has stated that using P2P on their 3G wireless network is grounds for disconnection. The lobbyist told congress "Use of a P2P file sharing application would constitute a material breach of contract for which the user's service could be terminated."
It could widely open the door for such clauses in regular ISPs contracts...
While this may be oppressive, at least users now know where they stand.This has to be better than an invisible, 'if we think you're using too much we may slow you down, and then lie about it repeatedly' policy.
Not to say that both are mutually exclusive, of course.
Is crushing a suspect's child's testicles illegal?
John Yoo: "No, [if] the President thinks he needs to do that."
As long as they're clear about what they are and aren't selling for $XX.99 per month, they're free to not sell whatever they don't want to sell.
(The mistake that the ISPs made was in claiming to sell YYY Mbits/s 'unlimited' and then not actually providing that.)
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
By selectively banning accounts for certain types of traffic, AT&T has effectively disqualified themselves from the safe harbor provisions. All that someone needs to do is download some pics of kiddy diddling and AT&T could be sued to oblivion for providing child pornography. Safe harbor ONLY applies when the ISP doesn't bias network traffic.
3G wireless data networking is a service with very limited total bandwidth. It has a premium price, and is primarily targeted at business users.
We're talking about AT&T.
You know, the people with the exclusive deal on the iPhone...
You're trying to tell me that those millions of iPhone subscribers are business users?
Maybe "3G wireless data networking" was "primarily targeted at business users" by AT&T, but they got the iPhone and with it comes the non-business masses. Not to mention that 3G is not "primarily targeted at business users" anywhere else in the world.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
AT&T can certainly change their contract as they deem apropriate. I'm pretty certain that's become a common practice. But A lot of you decriers of 'FOUL' are kind of missing the point.
The whole "Legitimate" reason for using P2P / BitTorrent whatever is to try and ensure that there will be more bandwidth for a desired file than will be availible by any one provider.
That is to say, now adays files are so large and there is so much demand that unless you have oodles and oodles of upstream bandwidth, someone is going to get denied access because of too many users. (any of you who may remember ftp archives like WU) or downloads that are much slower than that 8Gb fiberline you just had run the last mile to your house.
It's the same philosophy that you all bitched about when you'd say MS Windows expands to fill all resources. Just because you can use P2P doesn't mean you should. A lot of you are savvy enough to know how to limit the number of upstream clients you can provide for. But in general uncontrolled P2P will consume as much of your upstream as it can while your downloading your Pr0n.
Anyone who plays WoW will know their P2P is vicious, and this is from a company with the most popular MMORPG in the world, Billions of dollars a month from user fees and such and they have to use your network to help spread their updates?
So cry if you get thumped by the 'Corporate Giant' trying to keep the hard working hacker down. It's not about unlimited data, it's about people using tools that crush everyone elses fun using that service.
Think about it, you paid to move data for yourself up and down that line, P2P makes you a data dealer for 2 - 100's more all on that one line you are paying for.
Probably blew my Karm but oh Well.
DS
Are you sure about that, In my area we have a few cell phone companies, but in the places I need to travel to (out in the countryside) there is only one company with any service.
I have tried ATT, tmobile, sprint, etc. None of them functioned where I work, except for one....
Verizon.
I hate verizon's phone choices, I hate their restrictions, etc. But I simply do not have a choice.
I'm sure there are places where the same is true about att.
Screw that. It maybe their network but I have issues with them plastering signs up saying unlimited internet 60 bucks a month. Then sneaking in some shit in the contract written in flyspeck 3.
My story. I almost signed up for this 3G bullshit from AT&T. I asked the sales monkey what unlimited meant. He said it meant I could do anything with no limits, just what it said. I played 20 questions. I ask him could I watch unlimited video over it. He said yes, no limit. I ask him about running VPN on it 24/7. Same answer. I stated that I sometimes use bittorrent to download openSuse DVD iso, 4.5 GB. He nodded and said no problem.
So the fucker lied didn't he? He said to me point blank I could use p2p over the network but the contract woudl state I can't? This is the BS I have issues with. In the end I didn't get the service. Something about the way the sales monkey smiled.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification