TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Vonage Complaining Of VoIP 'Blocking'

Re: Vonage Complaining Of VoIP 'Blocking'

Paul Timmins (paul@timmins.net)
Mon, 14 Feb 2005 18:51:41 -0500

On Mon, 2005-02-14 at 17:07 -0500, Mike O'Connor wrote:

>> Not concerned yet? Well consider this - suppose your web page was
>> hosted on a particular ISP, and suddenly one of the large ISPs took a
>> notion to start blocking access to web sites hosted on selected
>> competitive ISPs. Of course, their solution would be to open an
>> account with them and move your web site to their servers. Now what
>> happens when two or more ISPs do this? Pretty soon the entire
>> Internet as we know it falls apart, and I don't think I'm being overly
>> dramatic in saying that - I have seen just too many examples of
>> corporate greed destroying the good things of life to think that it
>> could not happen that way.

> Most ISPs of reasonable size have figured out that it's not worth it
> to block or deny peering with other providers of reasonable size (of
> course there may be quibbling at the margins). The result of blocking
> is too much grief with customers, who don't care that much about the
> underlying transporter of bits. Blocking = less bits = less money, in
> the general sense. In the 21st century, it's been legal issues that
> have resulted in "stupid acts of site blocking" moreso than anything:

That's what gets me. Last I remember, to qualify as a common carrier, an
ISP isn't allowed to exact any sort of traffic control beyond what is
necessary to maintain the stability of the network. Anything more and it
could be seen as having the ability to control its content, and would be
vicariously liable for crimes committed over its infrastructure and
services.
Isn't that still the case?

Paul Timmins <paul@timmins.net>
Timmins Technologies, LLC

Post Followup Article Use your browser's quoting feature to quote article into reply
Go to Next message: David B. Horvath, CCP: "Re: The Move to High-Tech Tracking of Inmates"
Go to Previous message: Danny Burstein: ""Reputed Mobsters" Plead Out in Phone and Credit Card Scams"
May be in reply to: Jack Decker: "Vonage Complaining Of VoIP 'Blocking'"
Next in thread: Scott Dorsey: "Re: Vonage Complaining Of VoIP 'Blocking'"
TELECOM Digest: Home Page