Deep Packet Inspection Fuels Deep Controversy

Hi jwallace,  Oh I see your point, and can sympathize, because not every innovation or company is going to be successful. But I would rather have the choice to move to another provider, another bank, another cell plan or another broadcast/satellite medium as I choose, not to have one chosen for me.

Over regulation stifles innovation and choice, and under regulation (is there such a thing, really) means some companies fail when they don't meet their customers (changing) requirements or fail to execute their business properly.

Because we can share information so freely, a typical consumer can browse opinion and fact to make choices about their providers. If you detest your land line provider or find out your ISP is gathering too much information about your habits - in many cases you have a choice to move to another provider. Or, use the political process to pressure your lawmakers to protect your interests.

I like the free market approach even when there is some pain from disruptions - over the long haul I think we all benefit.

I would like to share here the events that is happening across india dealing with the encryption level..... The higher the encryption....higher the woes for the government which is keen to manage the Terrorist activities across the region...... But the Vendor has the say mentioning about the security about they offer to thier CUSTOMERS...... The DPI can't be applied..... Cross Fingers....

Hi Lynngi, Hi Mark 

I currently see the ILECs and utility companies as the same species except one has spots and the other has stripes. Oh, one is a carnivore and the other is an omnivore that gets to eat everything and wants what others have, gets it and doesn't know what to do with it.

"we have more players trying to provide a better overall experience for the customer"

Mark, I would be delighted if you can provide(few) 'working examples' of this with links. ;-)

It would be greatly appreciated.

Competition - Ha, where are all the CLECs that were around in 2000? Can we get Robert Knowling former CEO of Covad to give us his opinion? I find it to be an imperfect competition oligopoly gumbo(the kind you don't want to go for a second helping).

I'm only complaining with assumption that it can be improved.

 

 

Lynngi said "If we want the same underlying assumptions about telephone utilities to apply to all ISPs (regardless of how they deliver the service), then we have to make them function as utilities. Are we ready/willing to do that?"

Not ready and not willing to give up the free market approach at this time. When we unshackled the utilities and allowed the private sector to play in the utilities sandbox, we opened both sides to innovation. Which resulted not in dividing the pie more equally, but increasing the size of the pie for all. And more "flavor" choices for every consumer.

Because we have competition, we have more players trying to provide a better overall experience for the customer - and the customer wins. The number of eyes watching every move, and voicing concern when appropriate, is just one check on overstepping bounds... even the small players are keeping a close ear on the "Voice Of the Customer" (to borrow a Six Sigma phrase) and monitoring the day to day if not hour to hour effects of their actions on the bottom line.

"My own view is that we’ve lost track of the foundation of communications law: the idea that carriers have a duty to serve their market in a nondiscriminatory fashion, instead of leveraging their position as providers of basic transport for use in other ways."

But communications law was originally intended for phone companies, and they operated as utilities, not as private enterprises. One of the most significant issue in the entire "net neutrality" debate is that, due to the break-up of Ma Bell, communications' companies are NOT utilities anymore, and the cable/satellite companies in particular never were.

If we want the same underlying assumptions about telephone utilities to apply to all ISPs (regardless of how they deliver the service), then we have to make them function as utilities. Are we ready/willing to do that?

Lithium Technologies, PLEASE HELP THESE COMPANIES OUT!!

Thinking about tracking and reporting the simplest issues of Carriers/ISPs is so frustrating that I can't even put it into words.  If it's that retarded at the simple level such as usability outside of their main purpose(I'm naming Dish Network-BellSouth, Comcast and TWC), I can only imagine how much more amplified it is at the Top. Not to mention, they only pretend to 'hear' customer's woes and suggestions.    Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack STEAMROLLED over the candlestick.

"ISPs need the revenue they get from DPI-based marketing in order to provide better services."

How about provide better services and generate more revenue? I don't mean minimizing downtime (as I am currently very satisfied with the reliability). I'm referring to user interface/usability and services offered.

"forget about selling music downloads and such nonsence."

Have you tried using roadrunner music? It's worse than listening to a scratched record or a skipping cd. Carriers seem(C.Y.A.) to be like a bully on a playground - Big and Stupid.

OPENING UP A SIMPLE LAST DECADE FORUM AND CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMER'S ISSUES would do a HECK of a lot for which ever company they outsource to BRING THEIR..... 

 

 

I agree with you 100%- Carriers need to stick to the knitting and forget about selling music downloads and such nonsence.

The use of DPI and similar techniques for say SPAM reduiction is one thing- but to 'profile' behavior and 'sell' stuff- wow, that is off the chart nasty.

 

Lawrence Ricci

www.EmbeddedINsider.com

 

 

 

DPI isn't for marketing use. I hope we’ll see real movement toward basic, nondiscriminatory transport under a new presidential administration next year

I don't think that this has anything to do with presidential administration. Carriers cannot allow everything to pass through their network without regulation. And they will give thousands of reasons why they are doing so. I favour net neutrality, and we should fight for it. But it will be naive to think that carriers will always serve the "market in a nondiscriminatory fashion". 

Great Article,

and one that deserves much attention and thought. Since day one, the folks who constitute the not so savory side of net have sought ways to use our data invasively. To me it does not matter whether your the Federal Government or Joe Shmoe marketing exec. What does matter is it's not right, at least not to me. The downside is more spam, more ad's and more people knowing more about what we do, and in the case of those less educated in such matters, folks who have no idea what is being sucked from their personal data streams. The upside is that it will make more people aware of the practice and in turn may be able to stop it or greatly reduce it before it gains a foothold, or it will help open up a new I.S. job market for applications vendors and developers.In closing I agree with what RMaverick69 says and I paraphrase since I don't have it right in front of me, never do or say anything on the internet or web that you don't want someone to know about. And may I add this which also goes along with what I was told a long time ago by a close friend. Never PO your Network Admin, they know every thing about you, every thing.

Once upon a time the science fiction community wrote vast tomes of literary hypothesis concerning the very issues were are now faced with. The vernacular and acronyms are different, but the story is the same. We can take this "Big Brother" type scenario to many different levels, but the end result is the same. Somebody is watching us and knows whatever we decide to do, say, log, post, etc on the web, phone and more! Almost everything you do is tied to some sort of database and most are linked or being linked creating impersonal profiles for whatever reason is mandated by the sovereign powers that be. DPI, Digital Angels, social networks, personal web pages, consumer credit reports, MIB stats, and whatever other info we divulge is compiled, correlated, cross-referenced in the name of more targeted marketing, customized information feeds (RSS), so-on and so-forth. Where does it stop and to what degree are our rights and privacy being violated in the name of better service, instant gratification and better living through modern technology. Controversy? I say nay...........Seems more like regulatory control and personal intrusion. As I was told in the early days of the Internet by a Big Blue Guru, "Never do anything on the Internet you don't want to share with the whole world." Nuff' said!