How Diners of Internet’s All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Get in Each Others’ Way Over Video, Associated Press, February 11, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — Why are our Internet lines in danger of jamming up?
One way of looking at it is this: Internet service providers have been serving us an all-you-can-eat buffet for years. That has worked great, because they’ve had more food than they knew what to do with and we’ve enjoyed the simplicity of a flat price and our pick of the dishes.
But every year, our appetites have been growing. Some of us have turned into real gluttons, taking advantage of the pricing to eat 10 times as much as the majority of customers. The food is running out, and diners are starting to get in each other’s way at the table.
Now, Internet service providers are starting to limit the availability of dishes that are popular with the big eaters (controlling traffic). They’re also considering telling us to stick to two helpings per person (limiting monthly downloads). They might end up doing both. Read More.
