Quote:
Originally Posted by Gurkha
In layman's terms, if I have paid for 20mbps then I expect to get that speed and use it for any purpose be it regular downloads via http or via torrent protocol. Why would anyone wish to throttle that? Isn't that a breach of contract?
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I see where you are coming from, but it isn't that cut and dry. If you contract for a dedicated line between your two offices, yes, they are not living up to the agreement if full bandwidth isn't available to you, but the Internet spans multiple vendor's areas of responsibilities and has bottlenecks along the way that are beyond the control of an individual ISP. They generally allow you to have full bandwidth access to their network, but congestion limits the ability for data to be transported across thae various ISP's networks to your destination. Remember, nobody really OWNS the Internet...
Think of it like automobile traffic. We all have a RIGHT to drive at the speed limit. We pay our road taxes and expect there to be enough roads to carry the traffic, but our rights aren't being violated when there is a traffic jam on the freeway and we can't drive the speed limit. We allow priority to emergency service vehicles on the road, and we even create HOV lanes to give priority to commuters! Sometimes we even plan our trips during off-peak times!
If we do the math and add up every Internet user's maximum bandwidth the number would be so high that it would be (and is) impossible for an ISP to make the maximum bandwidth available to everyone at the same time. The best they can do is guarantee that you can connect to their network at full speed, but not guarantee full speed all the way through from point A to point B.
Oh, and in my description in my previous post of how things should be throttled, you CAN use your full 20 meg IF congestion doesn't slow you down, but when congestion is present, things have to be prioritized to let the phone calls (ambulances) through, etc.
The ISPs constantly monitor for bottlenecks and are always adding more bandwidth, but these projects take time and coordination between ISPs. Also, the revenues collected have to be able to FUND the expansions which will NEVER stop, so, they have to figure out how to offer the best possible service with what they have and for the fees they charge as they grow.