Cyberclinic: Can my provider influence how I use the internet?
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Your support makes all the difference.Of all the phrases uttered by people sat at their computers, "my internet is really slow" must be one of the most common. There are many reasons why data might not stream in and out as quickly as expected from the amount of traffic your internet service provider (ISP) is handling, to issues affecting the site from which you're trying to download. But an accusation frequently levelled at ISPs is that of traffic shaping. Some ISPs admit to prioritising data to ensure a fair service for everyone; Virgin Media, for example, halves the speeds of their heaviest users' connections during peak hours. But what irks proponents of an "open internet" is the idea of certain data being secretly limited.
Comcast, the second largest ISP in the US, was recently accused of preventing its customers from using BitTorrent, the file-sharing protocol. Comcast denied it; journalists offered proof to the contrary. Comcast then stated that they do not block traffic; but accusations remain that they substantially degrade it. And British ISPs are suspected of operating similar restrictions. You may think: "If people are sharing copyrighted material, they should expect a restricted service." The thing is, BitTorrent has plenty of legal uses and is one of the internet's most innovative technologies.
As BitTorrent is responsible for 60 per cent of internet traffic, it's no wonder that ISPs are concerned, yet few of them will admit to restricting it. But in France, the government may be offering its support; last week the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, publicly endorsed a plan to find illegal downloaders and deprive them of their internet access. This was met with derision on the Cyberclinic blog. Robbo writes: "The idea of policing the internet in Western Europe is impossible. Can you imagine the riots?" Whether people would take to the streets is questionable, but the battle against file sharing looks set to continue. As ISPs find ways of slowing it down, new ways are found of speeding it up. As BitTorrent is increasingly used for legitimate purposes, ISPs' attempts to stop that dataflow will start to annoy law-abiding netizens. And those people may be more likely to complain.
Diagnosis required
Might spammers be finally giving up? And do you really need a sat-nav to work out exactly where you are?
Email cyberclinic@independent.co.uk, or join the discussions on the daily technology blog, independent.co.uk/cyberclinic
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