symmetric vs. asymmetric [was: Verizon Policy Statement on Net Neutrality]

Tue Mar 3 12:28:39 UTC 2015

In message <54F57656.2010804 at satchell.net>, Stephen Satchell writes:
> On 03/02/2015 09:14 PM, Mark Andrews wrote:
> > Just tell that to your child that has to submit a assignment before
> > midnight or get zero on 20% of the year's marks.  There are plenty
> > of cases where uploads are time critical there are also time where
> > it really doesn't matter.
> 
> That's what USB thumb drives and school/library computers are all about:
> if you don't have the moxie at home, find a better path.

I don't know many schools that are open at midnight to accept thumb
drives.

> Of course, if the kid planned better, s/he wouldn't be in photo-finish
> hell.  (And I speak as someone who regularly crowded deadlines in school.)

Well kids will be kids.

> More compelling is the argument of collaborative creation of PowerPoint
> slide stacks with lots of graphic elements with a geographically
> distributed group of people.  Particularly if any of the information in
> the slides is company confidential.  Better upstream speeds will speed
> the collaboration, particularly in the final stages.  Text is fast;
> full-color graphics can be slow.

Yep.  The assumption that because you are sending from home it is
not time critical is absolutely bogus.  Upstream speeds really are
just as important as downstream speeds.  It just that it is not
normally needed as much of the time.

Mark
-- 
Mark Andrews, ISC
1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia
PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742                 INTERNET: marka at isc.org