It has been speculated that companies such as Comcast have not only been throttling p2p, but keeping a list of sites which they deem lower priority. If you go to such a site it will run slower than a higher priority site. This is evident with unknown sites that offer streaming media. Thus effectively managing overall system bandwidth.
There is also an ongoing battle between VOIP services and ISP's. In some countries the ports that are used by such services are blocked entirely.
Now with talks of metering bandwidth by ISP's, we as a community, have a greater foe to face. I believe it boils down to a simple grab for cash by an already bloated and selfish industry.

I have a number of friends whose ISP is Broadstripe. They have reported bandwidth throttling through Broadstripe as well. Video sites like Hulu and others don't work--the videos aren't getting through the pipe. These other ISPs who do this & don't tell their customers about it should be investigated as well.

"Now with talks of metering bandwidth by ISP's, we as a community, have a greater foe to face. I believe it boils down to a simple grab for cash by an already bloated and selfish industry."

Why? Bandwidth is finite. Everyone wants fully unlimited access for $5/month, it isn't going to happen.

I think ISP's should go to a metered system, you pay for what you use.

I've been on satellite networks where a small number of users (less than 100) used close to 50% of the total bandwidth. Their usage affected my performance. I don't blame the users, the ISP should have been charging by usage.

Once it happens, and it will, it will be interesting to see how much overall Internet traffice declines.

Hey Marco, It is already happening. Until about mid '06, Comcast was the only game in town. Sure, there was DSL from Verizon, IF you lived close enough to get it. Anyway, Verizon went after Comcast by building a Fiber Optics system. Comcast had a screaming fit and tried their damndest to block it but Verizon prevailed and we now have a choice, although in my opinion it isn't really a choice as Fiber offers a lot more than cable AND no bandwidth issues. Verizon just upgraded their speed packages. Mine was 15 mbps down and 2 mbps up and it has been upgraded to 20 down and 5 up. It isn't automatic though. You have to call Verizon and have them upgrade it, which I haven't as yet. The internet, TV, and Phone ( no long distance charges within the US) is About $133 per mo. They have an internet package that is 50 mbps down and 20mbps up for $89.95 per mo. in NY and VA ( $139.95 elsewhere). With the advent of fiber the phone companies are getting on the act, and limiting and cable companies are finding it more and more difficult to limit an area to a single franchise with them holding the franchise. This good for the consumers, not so good for the cable industry. Finally the FCC has done something in the interest of the consumer as long as it has some teeth in it and is really punitive. coastie65

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eMachines T5212.... Intel Pentium D 945 3.4Ghz..... evga 9800 GT 512 Mb PCI-E video card..... Realtec HD audio......2 Gb Crucial 667 Mhz DDR2 memory..... Lite on CD RW; DVD RW, DL,& Lightscribe optical drive...... Windows XP MCE 2005....... Antec Basiq 500w PSU......200 Gb Parallel ATA HDD.........Samsung 22" WS SyncMaster 2243BWX Monitor.

Hey Marco, In this area Verizon did have to open their lines. There is at least one Phone Company ( Cavalier ) that has very little infrastructure as they use Verizon's lines to provide service and Verizon maintains the lines. Cavalier does run the drop from the line to the house but that is it, plus the box, jacks, and inside wiring. They even use Verizon's DSL although they do not have access to the fiber optics system and are not likely to get it. With Verizon, if I opt out of their FiOS TV and go back to DirecTV, I will get a $6 per mo. discount from DirecTV because I have Verizon. That is part of Verizon's TV package, you can choose between FiOS TV and DirecTV on the dish. It hasn't had much effect on Comcast, as they continue with their huge annual rate increases even while their customer base shrinks in this area. Verizon's customer service attitude is much much better than Comcasts to be sure. I have seen what happens with multiple providers and Comcast is losing the fight. coastie65

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eMachines T5212.... Intel Pentium D 945 3.4Ghz..... evga 9800 GT 512 Mb PCI-E video card..... Realtec HD audio......2 Gb Crucial 667 Mhz DDR2 memory..... Lite on CD RW; DVD RW, DL,& Lightscribe optical drive...... Windows XP MCE 2005....... Antec Basiq 500w PSU......200 Gb Parallel ATA HDD.........Samsung 22" WS SyncMaster 2243BWX Monitor.

I use to have comcast, but I had to let them go, because of their high prices and their nasty attitude. I now don't pay anything for tv services (legally), which is to always be free. I can watch tv anywhere I go, as long as I have a dsl connection.We all must start working together against these criminals, type companies.

my parents are the norm when it somes to the internet and high speed they made the jump from dialup when they had to. my dad plays online poker and my mom will do e-mail and look stuff up on the web. the use almost 400mb on a light month. on a January they used 3gb they where watching tv over the web. I don't see how some one with photos and all that can only use 25mb a month. i use 1-6gb a month. One time it was 20gb when I was into online gaming and had a lot of lan partys. most of the people I know can'd use less then 4gb a month.

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