Refuses to take on the role of traffic cop, and says that it generally sees increased traffic as a “good thing.”
In a recent interview, Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president for public affairs, criticizes Hollywood’s efforts to get ISPs like AT&T to begin identifying and preventing copyrighted material from being illegally shared on its network.
Verizon seemingly acknowledges the fallacy of trying to monitor and police traffic on its broadband network, as well as the futility of even the most well financed efforts in doing so.
“We generally are reluctant to get into the business of examining content that flows across our networks and taking some action as a result of that content,” he said.
Now The fact that AT&T is even considering the proposal seems crazy in its own right that is, until one considers that it just underwent a controversial, and hugely partisan merger with BellSouth, which gave it effective control over more than half the telephone and Internet access lines in the US! If you want evidence of it attempting to cozy up to politicians and the entertainment industry that spreads around millions in contributions, then look no further.
Tauke also points out that unlike AT&T, which seems overly burdened by all of the increased traffic thanks to the illegal file-sharing of video content, it embraces the increased need for services from its customers. “We see substantial increases in the volume of traffic,” he says. “Generally we see that as a good thing”
“We have more customers paying for more services we provide.”
On the issue if BitTorrent throttling, or traffic shaping, Tauke says that “We don’t want to solve any network congestion issues by restricting the flow of certain kinds of traffic.”
He then noted 3 clear observations about how “examining content” is a bad idea.
1) The slippery slope.
Once you start going down the path of looking at the information going down the network, there are many that want you to play the role of policeman. Stop illegal gambling offshore. Stop pornography. Stop a whole array of other kinds of activities that some may think inappropriate.
2) It opens up potential liability for failing to block copyrighted work.
When you look back at the history of copyright legislation, there has been an effort by Hollywood to pin the liability for copyright violations on the network that transmits the material. It is no secret they think we have deeper pockets than others and we are easy-to-find targets.
3) Privacy.
Anything we do has to balance the need of copyright protection with the desire of customers for privacy.
It sounds like there may just be an ISP out there with some common sense after all. It’s a dirty little secret among them that illegal file-sharing is what’s driving the demand for faster and faster internet connection speeds.
Streaming video from YouTube and e-mail in no way justifies expensive $45 dollars a month subscription packages offering 7Mbps DL and 512Kbps UL speeds! It’s illegal file-sharers who are driving the demand for such services and as Tauke says, at least Verizon sees the need for such services as a “good thing.”
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Three cheers for verizon
Well good for them!
Way to go Tauke! Thanks for supporting your customers instead of treating them all like criminals!
All ISP’s should take on this approach. Still the best place to find mp3’s is 1089060195 .
He’s not doing it for US mind you. I mean granted having the ISPs be traffic cops is akin to allowing the U.S. Postal Service check your mail for love letters from your mistress to inform your wife. All it would take is a single invasion of privacy lawsuit going against to open the floodgates and destroy the ISPs.
What tactic will the RIAA/MPAA take now that (at least one) ISP has grown itself a scrotum?
Well in about a year the US will have a new president….one I HOPE enforces privacy laws.
Big business needing to be controlled is already a common theme among the presidential campaigns. I guess we will see how much control of big business having their way is stopped after the elections.
If memory serves me correctly last year Verizon actually had ads on a big tracker. They’ve invested millions of dollars in fiber optic infrastructure and now require a customer base that’s going to want to pay the extra money for the increased bandwith. It’s no secret that they’ve overextended themselves. They have no choice but to reach out to the filesharing community and in turn shun the IAAs. No one is going to fork out $75 a month for 20/20 service to read email and surf the web. Filesharers are the return on Verizon’s gamble I mean investment.
Expanding fiber optic infrastructure is essential to the future of this nation’s communications. In a somewhat roundabout way we’re funding this grand task.
Let’s face it. We kick ass.
Oh… they will roll over… it’s just a matter of time.
Verizon FIOS is cheaper than cable and costs about the same as Verizon DSL did a couple years ago. The 20/20 is a upgraded plan from what most people get. And most people get a package which can include phone and tv.
I think Verizon is doing good with the FIOS adoption because they have better service and more competitive rates compared to their competitors.
AT & T is a WHORE. Their greedy corporate mentality wants a piece of Hollywood so bad they can’t stand it. I recall when the phone company was broke up for being a monopoly. People will not stand for a perceived invasion of their privacy merely to protect the profits of the movie studios. AT & T is grabbing up all the lines they can get by merging with BellSouth. If they become overburdened everything could just (hopefully!) crash. Verizon is way smarter. They are improving their infrastructure looking ahead to the future. They will provide better service than poor AT &T by providing better service in an environment where people’s privacy is respected. Hollywood needs a new business model plain and simple. Trying to get ISPS to police the internet is misguided and will backfire.
“He’s not doing it for US mind you. I mean granted having the ISPs be traffic cops is akin to allowing the U.S. Postal Service check your mail for love letters from your mistress to inform your wife. All it would take is a single invasion of privacy lawsuit going against to open the floodgates and destroy the ISPs.”
LOL perfect analogy. The first guy who gets found out he’s cheating sues Verizon’s pants off plus think about the manpower it would require to read all the letters sent through the mail/all of the files transferred over the internet. Yeah right. What Verizon should think about doing is finding a way to expedite Verizon to Verizon file transfers (ie through bittorrent).
It felt gooooood when I dumped AT&T and hooked up with Verizon!
verizon for the f*ckin win!!!!!!!