[ NNSquad ] Re: Do the Happy Dance people...

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rahul Tongia <tongia () cmu edu>
Date: August 30, 2008 1:07:25 PM EDT
To: nnsquad <nnsquad () nnsquad org>
Cc: Nick Weaver <nweaver () gmail com>
Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: Do the Happy Dance people...

Let's do some basic math:

250 GB for $50 (say) = $0.20/GB.  "Reasonable" perhaps?

But not all of the costs are uplinking. In fact, they are a minority  
of costs (forget issues of "at the margin"); capex, CRM, etc. are big.

So, the challenge runs both ways.  I do not mind a cap IF it is  
grounded in costs, that too competitively.  By that token, I should be  
offered a 125 GB plan for significantly lower money. That is the  
dilemma. If they only make it a tad cheaper (say, $42.99), then that  
means 125 GB is $10 . So, going over by a similar amount should only  
lead to penalties of aobut $0.15/GB.  They cannot have it both ways  
(rather, shouldn't!). [(I realize that few people use the cap, but  
there are counters to that)]

In reality, given (1) congestion is rather granular in time and space  
(esp. in cable networks) and (2) bandwidth costs are falling over  
time, sometimes dramatically, I can but hope that not only will be cap  
grow over time but the penalties for overusage should be transparently  
low and falling.  Else, something is wrong with the fundamentals  
(i.e., pricing and costs have a wide disconnect).
Rahul

Nick Weaver wrote:
> When you get an ISP to implement a policy that is transparent,
> neutral, and only has anticompetitive effects where the bandwidth
> needed for 8 hours a day of HD content is considered insufficient [1],
> you should be doing a major happy dance.
>
> Yet the response that this is some evil plot by Comcast is ridiculous.
>
> If Comcast was interested in building a policy that IS
> anticompetitive, the solution would be simple:  A soft cap at 50 GB,
> and $1/GB beyond that.  Voila: that WOULD kill video over the net.
> Easy.  Signed, sealed, and delivered.
>
> And if your reaction to a benign policy like Comcast's is as stern as
> your reaction to a true anticompetitive policy, they are just going to
> write you off: "if you are going to do the time, might as well do the
> crime."
>
> All the other cable ISPs and wanna-be-cable company ISPs are going to
> look at your reaction and go "these guys can't be reasoned with.  They
> can't be satisfied.  So since they will always be angry, who cares
> what they think?"
>
> It makes your arguments far easier to counter when you can be painted
> as extremists.
>
>
> So do the happy dance!  The network neutrality types got an almost
> pure victory in this case.  You WON this battle.
>
> Don't go turning a tactical victory into a strategic defeat by failing
> to acknowledge your victory.
>
>
> [1] HD today, 720P, is 2.5 Mbps over Hulu.  As Hulu is the biggest
> player in the HD game, this should be taken as a reasonable amount for
> what HD content really costs for Internet delivery.  8 hours a day is
> a LOT of HDTV.
>
>  [ Today's 2.5 Mbps streaming Hulu is not (as far as I'm concerned)
>    true HD quality vis-a-vis broadcast HD.  Nor should subscribers
>    be constrained to real-time streaming rates when an obviously
>    more powerful model is faster-than-real-time delivery of very
>    high quality content to local staging (e.g. local disk)
>    facilities.  Not only does local staging allow for a more
>    responsive interface, but permits off-peak transfers to be
>    handled in a much more effective manner.  Off peak transfers are
>    available to be viewed at the consumer's convenience (during
>    prime time, if desired) without adding to peak traffic loads).
>
>    If ISPs should decide -- as per your speculation -- that they
>    can just "ignore" the analysis of those who question various of
>    their (often proprietary) network management decisions, they do
>    so at an ever increasing peril of additional and continuing
>    regulatory and legislative interventions.
>
>       -- Lauren Weinstein
>          NNSquad Moderator ]




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