Monitoring traffic to nickel and dime you

Iria · Oct 25, 2005, 07:33 AM

I've seen the future, and it's a tad bit scary. Here's what in the works: networking analysis technology that "knows" what kind of content is being passed on a network, and can act appropriately. Perhaps it will block the traffic. Or, maybe you'll be charged for it. The future, in some places, is now.

Voice-over-IP, be it in the form of PC-based Skype or home service such as Vonage, is becoming massively popular. And why not? While many have already ditched land-lines because of cell phones, there's still no shortage of people who would like to see their phone bill either sliced in half, or eliminated all-together. This has traditional phone companies running scared, and not a few of them are hoping to stave off the defection of customers by luring them in with DSL packages laced with their own VoIP offerings.

But what happens when the telecos have broad powers over their networks? In the past, it wasn't possible for them to do much about VoIP.

Enter Narus. The San Francisco Bay company has been working hard for the past several years at developing innovative network analysis technology, long before anyone really foresaw the popularity of VoIP in 2005. However, their software is being used in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and even Germany to block VoIP calls from traditional phone networks. Some countries and phone service providers don't like being left out of the fiscal loop, as it were.
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Read More / Source: Ars Technica

EcPercy · Oct 25, 2005, 01:55 PM

I can see some lawsuits over this. This is, after all, America. You can't sell internet service and then degrade the service for certain ports.... thats a load of crap. Time will tell.

This article is kinda hard to believe.

Oct 25, 2005, 07:33 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Monitoring traffic to nickel and dime you I've seen the future, and it's a tad bit scary. Here's what in the works: networking analysis technology that "knows" what kind of content is being passed on a network, and can act appropriately. Perhaps it will block the traffic. Or, maybe you'll be charged for it. The future, in some places, is now. Voice-over-IP, be it in the form of PC-based Skype or home service such as Vonage, is becoming massively popular. And why not? While many have already ditched land-lines because of cell phones, there's still no shortage of people who would like to see their phone bill either sliced in half, or eliminated all-together. This has traditional phone companies running scared, and not a few of them are hoping to stave off the defection of customers by luring them in with DSL packages laced with their own VoIP offerings. But what happens when the telecos have broad powers over their networks? In the past, it wasn't possible for them to do much about VoIP. Enter Narus. The San Francisco Bay company has been working hard for the past several years at developing innovative network analysis technology, long before anyone really foresaw the popularity of VoIP in 2005. However, their software is being used in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and even Germany to block VoIP calls from traditional phone networks. Some countries and phone service providers don't like being left out of the fiscal loop, as it were. __________ Read More / Source: Ars Technica

Oct 25, 2005, 01:55 PM	#2
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	I can see some lawsuits over this. This is, after all, America. You can't sell internet service and then degrade the service for certain ports.... thats a load of crap. Time will tell. This article is kinda hard to believe.