Czech regulator issues traffic management rules

Czech regulator issues traffic management rules - Telecompaper: "Czech regulator CTU has published new rules for operators using traffic management techniques. The rules and recommendations for internet service providers are based on the government's digital economy plan, Digital Czech 2.0. The rules prohibit ISPs from slowing or blocking services in such a way that the contracted speed and bandwidth is impacted, nor can they can discriminate against certain content, applications or services delivered over the network. Exceptions are allowed in certain cases, such as in order to prevent serious crime or disruptions to the network. In any other cases, internet services much be clearly advertised as restricted, with the limitations spelled out in the contract terms. The CTU will monitor compliance with the rules." 'via Blog this'

AT&T’s gigabit service is $70 if you let it spy on your searches

AT&T’s gigabit service is $70 if you let it spy on your searches — Tech News and Analysis: "I’ve asked AT&T for some more information on this model, which is reminiscent of the efforts of ISPs to use deep packet inspection to deliver advertising to users. There’s was a significant outcry about that at the time.
Back in 2008 companies like Phorm and NebuAd used technology called deep packet inspection to scan packets as they passed over the network. The idea is that ISPs could then offer more targeted advertising to users and take a cut of the money that they saw companies like Google or Yahoo snagging from the internet. Several ISPs actually used DPI gear without telling users and the result was a Congressional hearing and a retrenchment by the ISPs." 'via Blog this'

G.Fast startup readies silicon as standard signed off

G.Fast startup readies silicon as standard signed off • The Register: "Excessive crosstalk will be mitigated, Weissman said, because fibre will be replacing the largest cable bundles. In the 16-pair or 32-pair bundles that fan out from node to home, he said, “the algorithms in G.fast vectoring … offer an advanced and flexible approach to deal with crosstalk mitigation.” It's in the multi-dwelling unit (MDU) that Sckipio believes G.Fast will really hit its straps: once fibre is terminated in the basement, most of the fibre runs will be far shorter than 250 metres. “G.Fast is excellent for MDUs … it's aligned to that kind of use-case,” Weissman said."
Unfortunately, we don't have many of those in Fulham...'via Blog this'

500Mbps Internet over phone lines might solve fiber’s “last mile” problem

500Mbps Internet over phone lines might solve fiber’s “last mile” problem | Ars Technica: "G.fast is usable within 250 meters of a node, the highest speeds aren't likely to be available on the top end of that range.
"G.fast is intended for typical applications of 500 megabits per second (Mbps) speeds at 100 meters or less," Alcatel-Lucent said in July of this year. "In recent demonstrations and under laboratory conditions, Alcatel-Lucent achieved 1.3 Gbps over 70 meters, making G.fast a promising option for service providers to complement their fiber deployments."" That clearly means higher power Muxes for VDSL, but sounds promising? 'via Blog this'

Germany's new government to move forward with net neutrality

Germany's new government to move forward with a mixed digital agenda | Internet Policy Review: "“Granting net neutrality will be one of the aims of the government,” according to the text. [BNetZ] shall be empowered technically and with staff to check on violations and deep packet inspection shall be legally banned as a tool to allow discriminatory handling of packages. Mobile operators would be obliged to make an offer, even if separated from the basic service, to use VoIP services. Net neutrality activists should like this statement, but certainly will need to wait and see how once in power, the new government will follow-up to them - which certainly is true for everything in this type of document. Some observers have warned that non-neutral traffic handling could occur with the help of back doors." 'via Blog this'

Net Neutrality: EU Parliament Must Amend Kroes' Dangerous Proposal

Net Neutrality: EU Parliament Must Amend Kroes' Dangerous Proposal | La Quadrature du Net: "Monday 9th December, the rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP - Spain) will present to the “Industry” (ITRE) Committee of the European Parliament her draft report on Neelie Kroes' proposal for a Regulation on the Telecom Package. Citizens must urge MEPs to amend this report in order to accurately define what qualifies as 'specialised services' with 'enhanced' quality of service, and ensure that the Regulation will guarantee a genuine and unconditional Net neutrality principle." 'via Blog this'

Do we have a trans-Atlantic net neutrality accord?

TelecomTV | News | Do we have a trans-Atlantic net neutrality accord?: "Suddenly we’re not talking about access to all content for everyone.  There is now some content or services which need special treatment and that you have to pay extra for. And so it came to pass. The ability of ISP’s to sell better than best-effort treatment to upstream service and content providers was explicitly allowed for in the proposed legislation. Not many noticed since the volume knob on Kroes’ pro-neutrality patter had been turned up to 11." Well, I stated immediately that she was anti-neutrality, but hey....'via Blog this'

Tim Berners-Lee: Spies' cracking of encryption undermines the web and neutrality

Tim Berners-Lee: Spies' cracking of encryption undermines the web | Technology | The Guardian: ""What is obvious now is that not only must the web be for everyone, we also need everyone to be for the web. The ability to use the web, and the power of it, comes with an obligation: individual web users have to stick up for their rights. The obligation of a web user is to look at the way the internet is provided and complain very loudly if it deviates from being neutral."" 'via Blog this'

Those Who Remember History... Werblog

Those Who Remember History... | Werblog: "Ultimately, the point of history isn’t to understand the past; it’s to appreciate the present.  By looking backwards, we can understand better how we got here, distill lessons from experience, and appreciate how similar situations looked to prior generations. That doesn’t work when we’re looking forward, because we have no perspective on the present.  We can project into the future, but we’re apt to get it wrong by relying on our fresh and localized perceptions of the current state of affairs.  Going back not just to the origins of the telephone and broadcasting, but to earlier networks that in their time were seen as equally revolutionary, helps to wash out the local details and throw the essential concepts into starker relief.  In this regard, Net Effects is the kind of work we should want our leaders to be studying, and doing." 'via Blog this'

FCC Chairman Backs Net Neutrality, But Not Usage-Based Pricing Limits

FCC Chairman Backs Net Neutrality, But Not Usage-Based Pricing Limits | Variety: "He added: “I am a firm believer in the market. I think we’re also going to see a two-sided market where Netflix might say, ‘Well, I’ll pay to make sure that my subscriber receives the best possible transmission of this movie.’ I think we want to let those kinds of things evolve, and we want to observe what happens from that and we want to make decisions accordingly. I go back to the fact that the marketplace is where these decisions ought to be made, and the functionality of a competitive marketplace dictates the degree of regulation.”" 'via Blog this'