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Why would Comcast actively block legitimate traffic on their Internet networks? (otherwise known as traffic shaping) I think the reason is pretty simple. Let’s walk through my thought process together.
What is the primary driver of Comcast’s revenue? Answer: video.
What is the primary driver of increasing bandwidth utilization on the Internet? Answer: video.
What is an Internet protocol like bittorrent mainly used for? Answer: video distribution.
Comcast is simply trying to disrupt video distribution on the Internet before the Internet disrupts Comcast’s primary video distribution model. It’s like telcos trying to add latency to 3rd-party VOIP packets in order to diminish the quality of voice calls. These providers will fight back if you threaten the golden goose.
I attended the PUSH 2008 conference earlier this week and promised to report back.
I enjoyed the conference setting at the Walker Art Center. I had never been inside the center before even after living in Minnesota for 17 years. I celebrated my wedding at the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden so the area held special significance for me.
This conference is designed as a conduit for networking and exchanging ideas. I attend at least a half-dozen technology conferences each year. PUSH was a refreshing change because I didn’t have to listen to discussions on Microsoft, virtualization, or datacenters.
Most of the attendees I met were from non-profits, government, product development or marketing companies. Everyone was there for a different reason.
The presenters came from private companies (Target), UN humanitarian organizations, governmental trade agencies, Al Jazeera, and academia.
You can find more information about some of the topics and speakers on the Fast Company blog.
So was it worth it?
I was entertained and stimulated on a personal level by the presentations and stories I heard. I networked with people that I probably would not have encountered at typical industry networking events. I was exposed to dynamic trends that are shaping our world.
But the real question is how will I take this new found knowledge and apply it to my business? Or maybe I should ask a bigger question. How will I apply this knowledge to the way I live my life, and therefore by extension, my business? I will be pondering this question for some time. I think the conference was worth it. But I don’t think it is easy to quantify in terms of ROI for a business.
One thing is clear. I need to travel more and experience places like Africa, India, and Asia.
Here’s a wonderful blog post from Mr. Icahn titled Corporate Democracy is a Myth. Public CEOs earn 520 times that of the average worker. CEOs and their boards are no longer accountable to their shareholders.
I have no problem with CEO earnings. I do have a problem with extravagant employment separation packages. CEOs should not be rewarded for overseeing a company driven into the ground. Say it like you believe it, “Yes Icahn!”.
The Star Tribune loves municipal wi-fi. Okay we get the message. You guys on the editorial board can keep pushing wi-fi in Minneapolis all you want. I have no doubt that the city is going to accept the network because they have to save face. The CIO ain’t going to risk her job over this. At PUSH this week not one, not two, but three different people told me they dropped wi-fi because it was way too unreliable. I hear this same story at least once a week. I know this service either works for you or it doesn’t. I’m not dumping on the USI guys because I believe they are trying hard to make this model work. The problem is that I think this technology is going to be short-lived. I wonder if the city has any provisions for getting out of this contract within the next 5 years?
I wrote an article for the Minneapolis Star Tribune titled Minnesota: An Internet Backwater Soon? I can’t lay claim to the article title but I think it’s kind of catchy. I’ve received positive responses from friends and colleagues. The article was sitting in the editors hands for months so I was happy to finally see it printed. Minnesota like many other regions of our country is facing bandwidth challenges. The major carriers are not stepping up to the plate. We need change.
I’m attending the Push 2008 conference over the next two days in Minneapolis. I met Cecily Sommers, the founder of PUSH, at a Minnesota High Tech Association event several months ago. I’m not sure what to expect. I signed up because the conference seems like a mini version of TED. I’ll report back later this week.
Yes that’s bite, not byte. Some of the large carriers are trying to bite back against the evildoers on their networks — you know, the customers that actually use the bandwidth they are paying for. Big ISPs hate that. They want to oversubscribe the heck out of their networks. They want their customers to ignore the ancient copper cables in the ground. They want their customers to be content downloading emails and cute baby pictures.
Now the Comcast’s and AT&T’s of the world want to charge Internet users by the byte to curb Internet traffic on their networks. If you are selling a resource and trying to grow your services why the heck would you want your customers to consume less? Why would you buy services from these companies? Unfortunately some of you probably have no other option.
Time Warner Cable is planning to charge customers $1/GB for overages. That same GB costs them somewhere around 5 cents. I’m a big believer in allowing the market to set the price but this is borderline unethical. Try telling grandma what using 1GB of bandwidth actually means. Customers are going to be caught in this bandwidth dragnet. The TWC product manager that thought up this idea should be sacked.
It’s time to open up the infrastructure in this country. It’s time for cities to build and own Internet infrastructure. Google, you are our only hope.
I’ve been away from the blog for a week due to a big change in my life. My wife and I celebrated the birth of our new baby girl, Georgia, this past weekend. I’m filled with boundless joy and terror at the same time. 
Both mother and daughter are doing well.
I got a front row seat during the labor and birthing process. Nature is amazing. Women are truly amazing. Not only can they build these little creatures in the womb they can nourish them after they are born.
My wife and I were really surprised by the response from hospital staff when we told them that we didn’t know the sex of the baby before the birth. Apparently not knowing the baby’s sex is really old school these days. I always thought that this was the last big surprise gift we got as adults.
I will try to actively update the blog in the next couple weeks despite the sleep deprivation. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world.
