I may be out on a limb here, in fact I am out on a limb here, because I am not a person who understands networks and telecommunication like an Om Malik, for example. But as I read around the blogosphere I have come across the idea that the Internet Backbone is not the huge, formidable pipe that we have been led to believe. I've seen it described with words like 'delicate' and 'frail' and 'fragile'. So when I also read about the huge amount of rich content, video, music, live radio and soon television I start to wonder about what's in store for the Internet and our use of it. In fact, Congress is now debating allowing some of the backbone owners - yeah, there are owners of the backbone - to charge for content moving across their systems. Seems inevitable in a way, but also strange. The Internet as we know it today could really cease to exist in the future. It could become several different networks, created perhaps for different ends; one for business, one for entertainment, etc.. I also continue to hear people talk about unlimited bandwidth. But they are always talking about the last mile, the DSL or cable line that many of us are now using in homes and businesses. But as these last mile lines fill up with the content that's here now and coming soon, will the backbone be able to handle it? This obviously has huge implications for companies in the software as a service market, or on-demand software. The Internet is their lifeline. Can we continue to require a larger and more complex internet backbone without paying for it? Or, what is the best way to pay for it? What appears to be coming is a more segregated Internet where the backbone providers decide on the traffic and the tolls. |
