Whose Fault Is Traffic Shaping, App Blocking?

Om Malik, Thursday, May 15, 2008 Comments (5)

There is a big brouhaha today over Cox Communications blocking BitTorrent traffic, leading to outrage over what amounts to interference with the open Internet. The brouhaha is the result of a research study by Max Planck Institute, which found Cox, Comcast and (Singapore’s) StarHub to be anti-BitTorrent. There are some issues with this study, however — I, for one, (unlike DSL Reports) find it hard to swallow that there are no infringing phone companies.

Why is everyone surprised? I’m sure not. Cox admitted shaping traffic when we asked them about it back in October 2007, though they didn’t single out BitTorrent.

The publicity-hungry not-for-profits organizations do, however, bring up the issue of an open Internet, which is worthy of our attention — and anger — as consumers. But we need to focus our ire on the people who have helped create this mess — not ask them to get us out of it, as the Free Press proposes by suggesting that the FCC should intervene. FreePress Policy Director Ben Scott said: Continue Reading

When It Comes to Broadband, There’s Never Enough

Stacey Higginbotham, Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Comments (0)

Anyone questioning the need for more fiber or wireless backhaul, or even 4G wireless broadband, need only look at a recent survey from IDC that finds that a constant connection is becoming the expected norm for almost a fifth of the world’s population. Sure, the study was funded by Nortel Networks, a telecommunications gear maker, but I don’t doubt the general theme of hyperconnectivity at all.

Some findings include:

  • 16 percent of the global workforce is hyperconnected today, a number that will grow to 40 percent in five years.
  • 64 percent of the workforce in Latin America is either hyperconnected or increasingly connected, compared to 59 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, 50 percent in Europe, and 44 percent in North America
  • Hyperconnectivity varies by industry, from 9 percent in health care to 25 percent in high tech and 21 percent in finance industries

Continue Reading

Canadian Watchdog Seeks Bell Privacy Probe

Network management practices employed by Bell Canada have led the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic to ask for an investigation of the telecommunications company. The CIPPIC, a University of Ottawa legal clinic, accuses the firm of using deep packet inspection tools to determine what customers are doing with their Internet connections and then blocking traffic, such as that of BitTorrent. O, Bell Canada, following in the footsteps of Ma Bell (the newer) when it comes to P2P throttling is no way to to play.

Comments (3)

Mobile Backhaul Equals Big Money Opportunity

Om Malik, Monday, May 12, 2008 Comments (3)

As noted earlier, wireless industry experts believe that mobile backhaul networks represent a big opportunity, mostly because of the proliferation of 3G and 4G networks and the easy availablity of iPhone-type devices is going to boost mobile data and video use.

Infonetics Research has issued a report that forecasts 4.4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide by 2011, and estimates that their needs will push the demand for wireless backhaul equipment to over $10 billion by that year. Infonetics predicts that the big spending is going to happen on the IP/Ethernet portion of worldwide mobile backhaul equipment with triple-digit growth rates predicted from 2007 to 2011. No surprise: T-Mobile, Swisscom Mobile and Telecom Italia are all building IP/Ethernet based backhaul networks. Ironically, given the amount of money being spent on this sector there isn’t much startup activity in this space.

Here Come the Mobile CDNs

Stacey Higginbotham, Monday, May 12, 2008 Comments (17)

Today, telco gear maker Dilithium Networks launched a software product for carriers, content publishers and content delivery networks that can handle all of the transcoding necessary to take content formatted for one screen and move it to another in real time. The Dilithium Content Adapter is the first software product from the seven-year-old telecommunications gear maker. The company has focused on 3G video since its inception, and Dilithium says the product is already deployed with some operators and CDNs.

But Dilthium’s not alone in its focus on delivering faster video to mobile devices. In a few months, Limelight Networks will launch a mobile CDN product for its customers, and Dave Hatfield, an SVP of marketing sales at Limelight, says customers are testing such a product now. While it’s not a huge focus at Limelight right now, he says phones like the iPhone have changed the potential size of the market by making it easier for consumers to get mobile video — and that could spur market growth.

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The Fastest 3G Connection in Austria Hits 10.1 Mbps

Om Malik, Thursday, May 8, 2008 Comments (3)

Mobilkom austria recently made the fastest data call with a mobile device using the pioneering Internet High Speed Packet Access (I-HSPA) technology from Nokia Siemens Networks. Stelera Wireless, a small U.S. operator, launched data services in rural Texas using this technology as well.

During the trial, the data transmission downlink speed reached 10.1 Mbps. I-HSPA will be capable of data transmission rates over 10.1 Mbps, NSN claims. The I-HSPA functionality is designed for heavy data and rich multimedia usage over the wireless network. I-HSPA connects 3G base stations directly to the Internet, enables cost-efficient scaling of the network, works with all HSPA devices and improves end user experience by reducing latency. I-HSPA flat network architecture also enables smooth migration to LTE.

Now Vonage Will Also Sell Broadband

Om Malik, Thursday, May 8, 2008 Comments (13)

After a really rough 2007, Vonage (VG), the independent voice-over-IP service provider, seems to be having a better 2008. This morning the company reported its first-quarter 2008 financial results, and well, things are not bad. Not spectacular, but not bad, either.

More importantly, the company announced plans to sell Covad DSL services, rebranded as Vonage Broadband and tightly coupled with its VoIP service. Continue Reading

Ruckus Kicks Up a Fuss Over Wi-Fi

Matthew Hirsch, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Comments (0)

If Ruckus Wireless wins a recently filed lawsuit against Netgear, the Wi-Fi tech developer might want to send a thank-you note to the Patent and Trademark Office. Ruckus sued Netgear and another wireless network developer, Rayspan, in federal court this week, claiming that Netgear infringed on two of its patents. The PTO issued Ruckus one of those patents last year; the second patent was issued just three weeks ago.

Ruckus says in a legal filing that both patents hold innovative technologies that helped make Ruckus “the success that it is today.” If the federal court finds that Netgear and Rayspan infringed on either one, the court could halt sales of a new Netgear wireless router. So the issuance of the second patent could really help Ruckus in court, the same way a second big gun could help a warrior on the battlefield. Continue Reading

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