Senator Diane Feinstein Wants to know about the Benefits of P2P

Mon Aug 30 21:35:56 UTC 2004

At 05:03 PM 08/30/04 -0400, Sean Donelan wrote:
>I've always wondered what really makes P2P different from anything else on 
>the Internet?  From the service provider's point of view, users accessing 
>CNN.COM is a peer-to-peer activity between the user and CNN.  From the 
>service provider's point of view, Microsoft and Akamai are peer-to-peer 
>activities.

 From an internet-layer SP viewpoint, you're absolutely correct - p2p 
traffic is just that, traffic.

If you are an ISP that offers specific application services (for example, 
you market a VoIP service), you have just walked into the world that 
enterprise managers have lived in for quite some time. Suddenly it is not 
about "can the packet cross my network"; it is about "does the application 
I market behave as specified, and if not, what do I need to do to make it 
do so." At that point, you lump applications into a few buckets that you 
care about and one you don't, and think about their various implications.

And then there is the question of an ISP or enterprise that pays by the 
pound for its upstream service. It needs to be able to correlate its costs 
with its incomes. I have had a number of ISPs approach me for solutions 
that will allow them to do so, either by figuring out who is originating 
traffic to bill and send them a bill, or figuring out who is originating 
traffic they can't bill for and make it be less - without completely 
enraging the customer and making them change providers.

I have been approached by some providers who think p2p might be a service 
they want to offer, and therefore be able to manage, so that they can both 
bill for it and offer other services in a cost-effective manner. For them, 
it's part of the stuff they want to treat in a friendly manner...

It all depends on what kind of provider you are...  