Doesn’t want to see his bandwidth harmed by file-sharing "freeloaders," says ISPs should charge a premium to those users who act as seeds and share content, and that they should charge customers according to upload usage.
Once again the always outspoken billionaire Mark Cuban has decided to criticize P2P and file-sharing users by calling them freeloaders .
To add insult to injury he even wrote an "open letter to Comcast and every cable/Telco" urging them all to block P2P traffic on their networks so that nonusers like himself won’t have their connection speeds hindered by the "excessive" bandwidth usage of a few.
BLOCK P2P TRAFFIC , PLEASE
As a consumer, I want my internet experience to be as fast as possible. The last thing I want slowing my internet service down are P2P freeloaders. That’s right, P2P content distributors are nothing more than freeloaders. The only person/organization that benefits from P2P usage are those that are trying to distribute content and want to distribute it on someone else’s bandwidth dime.
Does anyone really think its free ? That all the bandwidth consumed with content being distributed by P2P isn’t being paid for by someone ? That bandwidth is being paid for by consumers. Consumers who pay for personal, not commercial applications. When consumers provide their bandwidth to assist commercial applications, they are subsidizing those commercial applications which if it isn’t already, should be against an ISPs terms of service.
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for P2P. There is. P2P is probably the least efficient means of distributing content in the last mile. Comcast, Time Warner, etc should charge a premium to those users who want to act as a seed and relay for P2P traffic. After all, that is why P2P is used, right ? For content distributors to avoid significant bandwidth and hosting charges. That makes it commercial traffic far more often than not. So make them pay commercial rates.
That will stop P2P dead in its tracks. P2P isn’t so good that people will use it when they have to pay for all the bandwidth it consumes. It will die a quick death. That will speed up my internet connection.
that’s a good thing.
So hang in there Comcast
What he means by excessive isn’t clear, but how could this possibly be the case? I currently pay $41.95 USD a month for a broadband connection with speeds of 7Mbps for DL and 512Kbps for UL. If I’m paying top dollar for this service shouldn’t I be allowed to fully use it at my discretion?
"I think the position that ‘you pay for the bandwidth, so you can use it any way you want’ isn’t reality and very flawed when it comes to P2P," Cuban writes.
Well, I hate to point out the obvious here, but since when did it become a flawed fantasy for users to think that they could use all of their allotted bandwidth as they see fit? And if an ISP does want its customers to act in ways that minimize bandwidth usage and thus rarely approach their cap, then shouldn’t that be reflected in the price? Why on earth would an average person need a 12Mbps DL and 1Mbps UL connection if not for file-sharing purposes? It’s the "techie" crowd of customers and their demand for better network integration and connection speeds that gives ISPs a reason to expand and invest in their networks in the first place.
With an increasing number of media companies looking to the internet as the distribution medium of the future, the problems ISPs face will only get worse.
Cuban also tries to make the argument that another critical flaw of P2P and file-sharing services is that individuals are essentially offering free bandwidth to companies for content distribution for which they receive no compensation in return. "I personally don’t want to see my connections slow down so P2P users can resell bandwidth to someone who isn’t willing to pay for bandwidth in order to distribute their bandwidth consuming files," he writes.
I think he sort of makes a good point in a way, but what happens when the people "asking" to use your bandwidth don’t have anything to gain financially. If you help seed "Steal This Movie" for instance, is it really reselling bandwidth if the effort is not primarily economically motivated?
Cuban’s been down this path before, writing in mid-January of this year also on "blog maverick" about how file-sharers are freeloaders and that the P2P model of distribution is seriously flawed.
There is a misconception that there is bandwidth savings for the end user. If you want to download a 1gb size file, 1gb of data will be delivered to your PC. There is no savings of bandwidth on the client side. In fact, the client is charged a bandwidth premium because after they have received the entire file, they are asked to participate in the peering by delivering parts of the file to other users.
In this latest "blog maverick" posting he makes a good point about why P2P is flawed by explaining its inherent inefficiency.
You send and receive the same bytes , which means for the portion of the file you are a seed for, you are at least 50pct inefficient. The more often you supply the bytes on your PC to others, the more you impose on the network. If there is a failure somewhere in the chain of delivery and assembly on the destination device , the error recovery process makes things far less efficient. All consuming more and more last mile bandwidth. The bandwidth that defines how fast my internet connection is.
This is probably the only real sensible thing he’s said so far in these recent blog musings of his. BitTorrent users, depending on whether it’s a public or private tracker site in question, are for the most part required to upload an amount of data equal to or greater than what they’ve downloaded. Thus, the network is asked to do something twice for which it should’ve only been done once.
When it comes down to it, I think its insulting and dishonest for ISPs to advertise breakneck connection speeds while simultaneously undermining ones ability to fully use them. Is it really so unreasonable to expect to be able to simply use what has been bought and paid for and nothing more?
Never one to avoid a fight, Cuban followed up his original post openly calling for the blockage of all P2P traffic several days later with a new suggestion. In it he writes that a good alternative to P2P blocking is that cable companies should just "…charge for upstream bandwidth usage like cellphone companies charge for minutes." Interesting idea, but I think it goes back again to what I’ve said before in that if you’re running a business where services are rendered for a fee, it’s not fair to later take action to try and prevent them from ever being fully used.
You can’t have it both ways, and considering again whom the primary customers of these higher end connection speeds are you’d think that ISPs would be trying to make them as content and satisfied as possible.
Looking for more stuff to watch or download?
Mark Cuban to Bram Cohen: "BitTorrent not DOOMED – has challenges"
Mark Cuban on BitTorrent: "Seeding is a HUGE problem!"
TVLinks Alternatives for Free TV Shows & Movies
Tips on how to not get busted for file-sharing
3 Quick Ways to Watch Movies for FREE!
3 quick ways to watch TV shows for FREE
BitTorrent torrent sites & search engines
uTorrent – A Beginner’s guide to BitTorrent downloading
News Tip? Comment? Suggestion? jared@zeropaid.com
Related
- Mark Cuban to Bram Cohen: “BitTorrent not DOOMED – has challenges”
- Mark Cuban on BitTorrent: “Seeding is a HUGE problem!”
- Mark Cuban and Partner Go P2P
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- Looking to Block P2P Traffic?
Fuck him! I pay just as much for a broadband connection as he does…so what gives HIM the right to think he should dictate how I should use my connection I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR?
Does this douche actually think people would pay 50 bucks a month to surf the net and read email? He needs to get a clue he is not the only person that uses the net. If he does not like others being on a connection with him he needs to stop being a cheap ass and buy his own ISP! He has enough money to do it so why doesn’t he just shut the fuck up and do that already?
He is a dumbass pure and simple!
Does anyone have his email? I would like to write that douche a “nice” letter!
I just told some other people he is a fucking hypocrite and here is why
http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=521690&postcount=2
“As we have heard in the past few weeks Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has agreed to finance the Grokster case in defense from the entertainment industry. This will be a case that could influence copyright and tech legislation outside U.S borders.”
OK now I am confused! He actually funds the grokster case to help those on the side of P2P and then turns around and does this? What a douche!
he is a fuuuucking cunt and HYPOCRITE read here.
http://www.blogmaverick.com/
HIS WORDS NOT MINE.
[So I take it all back. DONT block P2P traffic. Just charge for upstream bandwidth usage like cellphone companies charge for minutes. That way if P2P really is more efficient it will be a non issue. More people will use P2P and will never have to worry about their upstream bandwidth charges.]
@meyou
mark.cuban@dallasmavs.com
I wouldn’t be too concerned. He has a big mouth and complains about everything from p2p to NBA refs.
The bigest problem p2p but isp for selling more band weight then what they have.
Check the fine print it says “up to” x Mbps and not just x Mbps.
The distance from you and the nearest isp hub also determing speed.
The reason for the problem with p2p is because centerize where sued out.
@meyou
mark.cuban@dallasmavs.com
Thanks….will write that nice letter now!
look peeps this guys is just bored! and since p2p is like the (cloning) but a more public thingy…everyone has a bloody opinion at least that what freedom of speech says..but c’mon not cause he uses 5mb to check his mail and stare at flash ads doesnt mean that we all do the same…he really wouldn’t like it if someone said football was too violent a sport and should be toned down…(it’s football rite?)
I think his views reflect what he truly is a content owner and distributor protecting his assets
What a douchebag. Why doesn’t he make his own ISP to use and sell services to people who hate P2P? He’s wealthy enough I suppose. Fuckwit.
I wrote him a nice letter telling him to MAKE UP HIS MIND.
Either he is for or against p2p but being two faced is just stupid.
Come on Mark!
…jerk.
The guy is rich enough to afford to bypass the ISP’s and get a direct fiber connection to the internet backbone from his house.
The ISPs advertise unlimited bandwidth at x speed per month if they want to free up their network then they should set a cap instead (X GBs at x speed per month). Until they do they can be 1) criminally prosecuted for fraud and 2) civilly sued for breach of contract if they don’t render services paid for.
I have no confidence that any type of bandwidth throttling would stand up in court (unless the TOS statement said that they were free to do that and intentionally not provide the advertised speeds although that may only strengthen a charge of criminal fraud).
Am I the only one that wants to see Comcast get raped in a courtroom?
umm total crap
at the end of the day were mostly on asynchronous connections which means that if you are concerned about seeding you have probably upgraded to get a better up speed as I have. Therefore Im already paying a premium to seed…. download speeds dont increase the same way upload speeds do if you get a better connection- my upload has tripled as ive upgraded my account my downloads are about the same maybe 30 % faster compared to 300% faster for upload
If the guys worried about contention ratios on cable for his download maybe he should hire a T1 he sure can afford it- millionaire on cable complains about the fact he dont have SOLE use of the DL line – WTF??
maybe im out of line but this guy MAYBE has a different agenda than concerning himself with who else shares the line to the box at the bottom of his street…..
interesting that hes a millionaire yet still concerned that us plebs are sucking his download speed I hope hes not illlegally downloading music he could well afford to buy….maybe £14.99 for a CD is too much even for a millionaire..
Ummm…hate to break it to you meyou123 but…he did not read your email. And probably NOBODY read it.
JosefStalin
You never know what he reads or what makes it to his inbox. I’m sure he has like 5!
This guy is a dick but you know I think that he is just some rich bitch sounding off his stupid opinion. Sure go ahead and fund the anti-p2p effort sure he has billions of dollars but so does the movie and record industries and look where they are.
Fuck this motherfucking rich dickslurper he should go and enjoy his money instead of doing all that bitching like a little stupid ass biATCH!
FoCuS oN iMpoRtAnT isSuEs anD GivE sOme MonEy tO All ThOsE PeOple thAt losT EveryThinG duRinG KaTriNA YOU RICH BITCH!
Screw Mark and all his Rich NBA owners AND PlayerS. OVERPRICED BASTARDS thats why it cost over a Hundred Dollars to take your wife and Kid to a game. for What ? Some Arrogant Rich Fuck complaining about His Face Not getting Airtime on TV !!! Then This Rich Owner Bastard has the Nerve to tell Us We are SLOWING DOWN HIS CONNECTION ! SUCK THIS MARK !!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a tosser. Mine mine it’s all mine.. Dickheads like this are what ruins the world.
If I want to pay $50 a month to upload whatever-the-fuck-i-want who is to say no? Bunch of douchebags. If I can’t upload whatever the hell I want I will just go get some other internet. Besides he forgets that Gaming consumes somewhere around 1mbps down and 300kbps up. I will game for as long as I fucking feel like it… and if my internet makes me pay for uploading every kb for gaming I will sue the dog shit out of them. Buncha bastards this is ridiculous; he needs to take his shit and whine elsewhere. He has billions of dollars and still picks on the consumers. I will be glad when these billion dollar dickheads get fucked by the people that buy their shit. Who do they think they are? We are the ones that fund their organizations. In a fantasy land there is a robot from the future going around killing massive amounts of dickheads just like him.
Just bringing up another complication to what this elitist snob is proposing: many colleges have Distance Learning classes. I teach them myself. My students and I are constantly uploading and downloading files to each other (not to mention exams and quizzes which also sometimes require downloading and uploading).
College students are probably the most financially strapped people in the world. How would they pay for this in addition to their tuition and fees? And of course the colleges will be paying more so the tuition and fees would increase. Students and colleges across the country would suffer.
Just thought I’d mention this aspect.
The Internet should belong to the people not bored “better than thou” rich boys who are living in the castle on the hill.
Mark babes what about that bandwidth you cluttered up on your first website to fame and fortune 12 years ago. The police and radio calls in Houston indeed.