Google wants to be your Internet

Sun Jan 21 04:25:21 UTC 2007

On Jan 20, 2007, at 8:10 PM, Mark Smith wrote:

> I think you're more or less describing what already Akamai do -  
> they're
> just not doing it for authorised P2P protocol distributed content  
> (yet?).

Yes, and P2P might make sense for them to explore - but a) it doesn't  
help SPs smooth out bandwidth 'hotspots' in and around their  access  
networks due to P2P activity, b) doesn't bring the content out to the  
very edges of the access network, where the users are, and c) isn't  
something which can be woven together out of more or less off-the- 
shelf technology with the users themselves supplying the  
infrastructure and paying for (and being compensated for, a la FON or  
SpeakEasy's WiFi sharing program) the access bandwidth.

It seems to me that a FON-/Speakeasy-type bandwidth-charge  
compensation model for end-user P2P caching and distribution might be  
an interesting approach for SPs to consider, as it would reduce the  
CAPEX and OPEX for caching services and encourage the users  
themselves to subsidize the bandwidth costs to one degree or another.

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Roland Dobbins <rdobbins at cisco.com> // 408.527.6376 voice

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