North American Network Operators Group

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RE: routing around Sprint's depeering damage

  • From: Daniel Senie
  • Date: Sun Nov 02 10:07:00 2008

At 09:33 AM 11/2/2008, Mikael Abrahamsson wrote:
On Sun, 2 Nov 2008, Rod Beck wrote:

It is a short term issue that probably doesn't merit government intervention

The only government intervention I can imagine as being productive would be to mandate what the "Internet" is, and if someone is selling access to it, mandate that customers can demand a refund in case the "Internet Access" doesn't provide access to enough a big part of it in a well enough working manner.

Precisely the issue I am concerned about. End consumers cannot go off and multihome easily. Comcast got in trouble for altering traffic flows to its residential customers. Sprint has broken access to its EVDO customers. Does it make sense for end customers to be protected from companies providing access to only parts of the Internet?


Sprint could, in response to this partitioning, buy some transit to provide complete connectivity to its EVDO users. But unless they're willing to allow termination of contracts for cell phones and data cards without penalty, consumers are NOT free to switch carriers, and they are not getting unfettered access to the Internet as was sold to them. The other carriers in the space aren't much better. Verizon got in trouble for selling "unlimited" access via data cards, then cutting people off who used it heavily.

Is it worthwhile for the government and/or the courts to set rules for such? As a consumer, I would prefer the government protect me from large businesses selling me one thing, then delivering another. Consumer protection is a valid and useful function of government, IMO.