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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Neil McIntosh

ISPs look at bandwidth caps

News.com reports on US internet service providers (ISPs) considering bandwidth caps to deter file swappers, who hog (they say) all the capacity with their film and music-exchanging ways.

The music and film industry would love to see bandwidth caps, of course, as it would prove something of a barrier to piracy (even if lots of people, who do this kind of stuff at work, or university, wouldn't really be concerned). It might be less of a good idea for the broadband business, the appeal of which is based largely on the fact a meter is not ticking, unlike some forms of dialup access. And it would mean the user, again, ends up paying to see spam and irritating pop-up ads.

Of course, the US internet industry could follow the example of my local broadband provider, NTL, which simply gets so slow in the evenings I stuggle to get my email. Downloading a pirated copy of the latest Harry Potter movie, should I feel so inclined (and should it exist) would require throughput beyond my wildest dreams...

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