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Video may have killed the radio star, but it doesn't have to kill the Internet.

That is if Internet service providers can figure out how to keep up with the video-driven bandwidth demand on their networks. Peer-to-peer technology provider BitTorrent says it can help.

Video consumes more network resources than any other media distributed on the Web. Even poor-quality video from YouTube eats up more bandwidth than e-mail, music downloading, and voice over IP services. And when you throw full-length high-definition video into the mix, you're talking about even more bandwidth. Depending on the compression used, a single HD video stream can eat up 20 megabits per second worth of bandwidth.

And as consumers subscribe to faster and faster broadband connections at home and sites like YouTube and Hulu come online offering all kinds of video choices, more people are watching video on the Web. According to ComScore Video Metrix, Americans are currently watching upward of 10 billion videos online a month. By the end of 2007, online viewers averaged more than one video a day.

This is just the beginning. ABI research forecasts the number of viewers who access video via the Web will nearly quadruple in the next few years, reaching at least 1 billion in 2013.

This summer's Olympic Games in Beijing marks the first real test of online video as NBC embarks upon the most ambitious online video project ever. NBC plans to offer 3,600 hours of live programming from Beijing, which translates to about 212 live hours for each of the 17 days of the Olympics. The majority of this viewing will be delivered online.

All this video is great for viewers, who are able to pick and choose what they watch and when. But for Internet service providers like the phone companies and the cable operators, it represents a massive challenge. Some providers, such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, are testing out new ways to deal with "bandwidth hogs" or individual users who use an inordinate amount of bandwidth.

Last month, Comcast began testing a new system that will throttle back or slow down traffic during times of congestion for heavy bandwidth users. The new system was developed after Comcast faced stark criticism for singling out and slowing down peer-to-peer traffic.

Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable, which says it faces the same capacity headaches, also began testing a new billing system that charges customers who exceed their limit for uploading and downloading material.

P2P as a solution, rather than a problem
Eric Klinker, chief technology officer for BitTorrent, which has commercialized the peer-to-peer technology, says that what the cable operators are doing is a good start. But more can be done to help operators deal with the onslaught of video.

For one, peer-to-peer protocols, such as BitTorrent, which are often cited as major headaches for network operators because of the big file transfers they enable, need to be utilized rather than singled out as a source of the problem, he said.

"I think what Comcast and Time Warner Cable are doing is a great first step," Klinker said. "It gets ISPs out of the business of deciding which applications are important and which aren't. But there are enhancements to the peer-to-peer protocol, in particular, that can make it easier on all ISPs."

Peer-to-peer technology has gotten a bad rap for years. Since the days of file-sharing networks like Napster, which allowed people to exchange songs on their computer hard drives with others on the Internet, peer-to-peer technology has been demonized in the press. But the truth is that peer-to-peer technology actually allows large files like videos to be distributed more efficiently. And as more video makes it way onto the Web, it's increasingly being used. In fact, peer-to-peer traffic accounts for about 43 percent of all traffic on the Internet, according to a recent study by the network management company Sandvine.

The way peer-to-peer works is that when a user requests a video, the peer-to-peer network queries other users in the network and takes pieces of the file from different peers and sends it to the user requesting the file. This distributed architecture means that content owners don't have to assemble large and expensive data centers. It also means that a content distributor doesn't have to pay for expensive high-speed links to serve up an entire file from a single server farm.

That said, peer-to-peer protocols in the wild can eat up lots of bandwidth because peers on the network can silently and continuously upload pieces of files from their computers all day and all night, seeding dozens or hundreds of file requests. And because upload capacities are generally much slower than downloads, it can create bottlenecks and capacity crunches on the last mile of service providers' networks. For network operators that are already capacity-constrained, this phenomenon can dramatically affect performance for all users.

The enhanced version of peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer companies, such as BitTorrent and Pando Networks, have recognized this problem and have been working with service providers, such as Verizon Communications, Comcast, and others to come up with solutions. Verizon and Pando Networks have been working on a project called P4P, which advocates ISPs share information about their network topography and use an enhanced version of peer-to-peer to locate peers in close proximity to the file request. Getting files locally can help reduce the expense associated with carrying peer-to-peer files over long distances.

BitTorrent, whose founder created one of the most popular peer-to-peer protocols used today, has also been working on a solution. The company has developed its own enhancement to the peer-to-peer protocol that tells peer-to-peer applications to stop seeding the network with content when the network is congested.

For example, if a teenager starts playing an online video game at the same time his mother makes a voice over IP phone call and his little sister is downloading music from iTunes, the protocol will tell the peer-to-peer movie application that is running in the background on their family computer to stop uploading bits of the Spider-Man movie that had been ordered from an online movie rental service and is now stored on a hard drive in their home. Instead, the network will search for the content on another peer that is on a network that is less congested.

"If there is contention in the network, my application will back off," Klinker said. "And it will automatically and seamlessly find someone else in the network to complete uploading that content. The video quality is never disrupted, and the user never knows where the content is coming from."

BitTorrent has already tested the enhancement with more than 10 million users and it's currently working with the Internet standards body, the Internet Engineering Task Force, to standardize the technology so that other peer-to-peer companies can embed it in their software client.

Klinker said that new technologies, such as the one developed by his company, as well as efforts on the P4P enhancements will help ISPs manage and control their networks so that even more video can make it to the Web without crippling the infrastructure delivering it.

And once service providers learn how to harness peer-to-peer, they will be able to develop business models that reap the benefits of the technology. For example, Comcast, Verizon, or any other TV provider could add peer-to-peer software to the set-top boxes sitting in their customers' living rooms to create a distributed peer-to-peer movie network. Instead of serving up on-demand movies from their own servers sitting in expensive-to-run data centers, these TV providers could leverage the content already stored on their customers' set-top hard drives.

"The cable and phone companies are already spending capital to put set-tops in everyone's home," Klinker said. "They could use that same hardware as part of their content distribution model. Then the user pays the electrical bill. And they pay for the bandwidth. It's just much more efficient."

Klinker said a solution, such as this one, requires a slightly different business model from BitTorrent's current business model. But he said that it's something the company is investigating.

"It's interesting enough that we're in discussions and testing some scenarios with ISPs," he said. "In general, service providers move slowly. So nothing will happen overnight. But I think we'll see some interesting changes within the next three years."

Virgin Media and the British Polyphonic Industry will work together to "educate" broadband customers on avoiding legal action while downloading music with peer-to-peer software, the organizations said Friday.

A joint release posted on the British Polyphonic Industry (BPI) Web site said Virgin Media broadband customers using their accounts to illegally share music will receive letters from Virgin Media and the BPI. Customer names and addresses will not be disclosed to the BPI--which is comparable to the Recording Industry Association of America--and the release says the letters will be of an "informative" nature.

According to the BPI, the new campaign will provide advice on how to prevent misuse and find legal online sources of downloadable music, and it will also illustrate the potential dangers of downloading illicit files. Virgin Media said its broadband is a great platform for people to download music, but it wants "them to do so without infringing rights of musicians and music companies."

The educational information will also be posted on the Virgin Media Web site.

The BPI said research concludes that 6.5 million broadband accounts in the U.K. are used to access music without permission. Virgin Media, a cable, Internet, phone, and cell phone provider, is part of the larger Virgin Group. The company has 10 million customers total, and is the most popular residential broadband provider in the U.K., according to its Web site.

BPI CEO Geoff Taylor suggested that new partnerships with Internet service providers would reduce illegal downloading and said the partnership with Virgin Media was the first step toward reaching that goal.

In March, British technology Web site The Register said that Virgin Media and BPI were in talks to implement a three-strikes program through which users would be warned of their illicit activities before their service was cut off. But instead the education plan has been employed.

The Register claims to have examples of the Virgin Media letter (PDF) and the BPI letter (PDF) that will be sent to copyright-infringing users during the campaign's two-month trial period.

Students at one Missouri university don't just have to take surprise quizzes on economics, chemistry, or Spanish these days. They also get pop quizzes on digital copyright law. The online test aims to prevent piracy and violation of copyright laws, and if students want access to peer-to-peer file sharing, they have to ace it.

According to an Associated Press report, the Missouri University of Science and Technology now requires students to correctly answer six questions about digital copyright law before they can use peer-to-peer tools. If they pass the test, they get six hours of access to the software.

Students are limited to eight monthly stints (of six hours consecutive each) with peer-to-peer software during the academic year, and they must take the test each time they want to use it. The school, located in Rolla, Mo., near the Ozarks, introduced the test as an alternative to taking away access to peer-to-peer file sharing from students and faculty.

A fear of lawsuits from the recording industry has prompted many schools to suspend access altogether. In November, Congress began pushing schools receiving federal funding to develop alternatives--such as subscription-based services or technology-based deterrents--to prevent students from engaging in copyright violations and piracy.

In May, a new law passed in Tennessee requiring any higher-education institution in the state to develop and enforce a policy that prohibits its students from committing copyright infringement.

Tim Doty, Missouri S&T campus systems security analyst, told the AP that the school still wanted to allow peer-to-peer access, "but in a controlled fashion. We're providing them the information to make an informed decision."

Doty said the pre-access quiz appears to be the first such test on a U.S. campus, and he says it cut complaints from the recording industry from 200 during the 2006-2007 school year to a mere eight in the school year just wrapping up.

Unlike regular school quizzes, once students pass this one, it's not the end of the story. If Missouri S&T students don't follow the copyright rules, they can lose their Internet privileges or be reprimanded with fines, community service, research projects, or even suspension.

First, it was a very public detente with BitTorrent.

Then, on Tuesday, Comcast continued its make-nice-with-P2P campaign by announcing a new collaboration with P2P software maker Pando Networks. Specifically, they're leading the development of a "P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities," driven by input from "industry experts, other ISPs and P2P companies, content providers and others."

"By having this framework in place, we will help P2P companies, ISPs and content owners find common ground to support consumers who want to use P2P applications to deliver legal content," Comcast Chief Technology Officer Tony Werner said in a statement.

The companies also plan to test Pando technology designed to capture and analyze the flow of P2P traffic on Comcast's fiber-optic network and other Internet service providers' networks. The idea is to publish the results of the tests--which will measure "performance, speed, distance and geography as well as bandwidth consumption impact to the ISP"--so that other ISPs can learn how P2P applications might be optimized on their networks.

Pando, for its part, has already worked with Verizon and Yale University researchers to test "smarter" P2P routing techniques that have been found to drastically reduce network utilization and speed up downloads for subscribers.

a screen shot of Pando's P2P software

(Credit: Pando Networks)

Comcast drew public criticism and a Federal Communications Commission probe after reports that it was delaying uploads of peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic on the BitTorrent protocol. Comcast has defended the move as necessary to keep its network running smoothly at peak hours for all users. But there have been allegations, including from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, that the company didn't do enough to inform its users about those activities.

The subject is likely to come up again this Thursday during a second FCC hearing at Stanford University, as well as at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on the "future of the Internet" scheduled for next week.

Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association--the industry group of which Comcast is a member--called the announcement "further evidence that private sector collaboration, not government intervention, is the most appropriate way to address complicated technological issues."

Proponents of Net neutrality rules--that is, barring network operators from prioritizing Internet content based on its ownership or type--have asked the FCC to declare that Comcast's peer-to-peer traffic management is not reasonable and therefore off limits.

One such group, Public Knowledge, called the agreement "long on rhetoric," "short on detail," and "ludicrous." Another group, Free Press, was similarly unimpressed by the company's latest overtures, saying the need for Net neutrality rules "remains urgent."

"Slick press releases by a dishonest would-be gatekeeper do nothing to protect consumers," said Marvin Ammori, the group's general counsel. "Comcast's announcement is little more than the fox telling the farmer, 'I'll guard the henhouse, you can go home.' And that's all the attention it deserves."

A real-world Internet test reveals that "intelligent" routing of peer-to-peer traffic can drastically reduce network utilization and speed up downloads for subscribers, according to a new study.

Verizon Communications, which participated in the study headed by researchers at Yale University, plans to release the data on Friday at the Distributed Computing Industry Association's P2P Market Conference in New York City.

Using network topology data from Verizon and Telefonica, Yale University tested a software enhancement to the peer-to-peer protocol that it developed with software developer Pando Networks.

What the researchers discovered was that when using the so-called P4P software they were able to reduce the impact of peer-to-peer traffic on Verizon's network by more than 50 percent. This is significant because peer-to-peer traffic makes up roughly half of all traffic traveling over Verizon's network.

The P2P protocol, which is used to distribute large data files, works by requesting pieces of a single file from different hosts all over the Internet. The technology has become popular for distributing high-definition video.

But applications that use P2P eat up a lot of bandwidth, which some service providers say is a problem. Cable operator Comcast has slowed down certain kinds of peer-to-peer traffic in an effort to manage its network. And Time Warner Cable is experimenting with a tiered usage model to deter people from sharing P2P files.

Traditionally, the P2P protocol has requested bits and pieces of content randomly, without considering the physical location of the data. This often results in some pieces of the content traveling over long distances across the network. For example, a user in New Jersey downloading a movie might get some bits of the file from New York and others from China or California.

The P4P software enhancements add intelligence to this process so that the bits are served from local hosts.

Douglas Pasko is Verizon senior technologist and co-chair of the P4P Working Group, which was formed by Verizon, Pando Networks, and the university to develop P4P. He said that when the P4P software was used on the Verizon network it found that 58 percent of its peer-to-peer network traffic stayed local. Using regular P2P technology, only 6 percent of the traffic stayed local.

Reducing the number of hops is key
Pasko said that keeping the traffic local is important because every link that a bit passes through costs the operator something. This means that if a Fios subscriber in New Jersey can get bits of content from Verizon customers in New York City instead of getting them from Singapore or Taiwan, Verizon can save money.

The key is reducing the number of routers or hops the traffic has to go through to get to its destination. On average, Pasko said that regular P2P traffic makes 5.5 hops to get its destination. Using the P4P protocol, those same files took an average of 0.89 hops.

Reducing hops means that Verizon can cut its network costs. Exactly how much the company saves depends on the individual links, but Pasko said the savings are significant.

Verizon broadband subscribers also saw a benefit when the P4P protocol was used. Customers using Verizon's all-fiber network called Fios saw movies downloading on average twice as fast as when they used the traditional P2P software. Some customers saw as much as a 6x improvement in download speeds, Pasko said.

For customers on regular DSL service, the improvement in download speeds wasn't as great because these customers don't have high bandwidth connections anyway.

This real-world field trial validates the value of P2P content providers working closely with Internet service providers to provide the most efficient service for customers, Pasko said. There are already 50 members in the DCIA's P4P Working Group, including some cable operators, such as Comcast, Cablevision, and Time Warner, he said.

"We hope this shows that using P2P in an intelligent way can benefit everyone," he said. "It allows us to use fewer resources on our network and get better performance for our customers."

Cisco Systems has invested in a peer-to-peer Internet TV start-up.

The Seattle-based start-up GridNetworks said that Cisco is one of two "strategic investors" that contributed to the company's $9.5 million series A round of funding announced in October. The venture capital firm Panorama Capital of Menlo Park, Calif., was named as the lead investor when the funding was first announced.

GridNetworks, which launched its service in November 2006, has taken a hybrid approach to delivering high-definition movies and TV shows over the Internet. It uses both peer-to-peer technology, which leverages content distributed on users' computers all over the Internet as well as content delivery technology, which essentially caches and stores content in server farms throughout the Internet so it can be served up more quickly to geographically close clients.

GridNetworks' software client called Gridcast Connector is installed on PCs and, when content is requested, it locates peers best suited to serve the content. It uses content delivery technology to buffer the first 30 seconds or so of a show or movie.

Cisco has been focused on video for the last couple of years. Eventually, the GridNetworks technology could work well with the company's cable set-top boxes from Scientific Atlanta and Linksys home routers. On the infrastructure side, Cisco also offers video-on-demand products. In 2006, it bought Arroyo Video Systems for $92 million. Cisco plans to use the Arroyo technology to deliver Internet video directly to set-top boxes. And this technology could help the company distribute high-definition video more efficiently.

Cisco is the largest Internet infrastructure provider in the world. And it's significant that the company is investing in a company that is developing a peer-to-peer video platform.

P2P has gotten a bad reputation for being a damaging technology that allows digital pirates to distribute stolen content. It's also been blamed for clogging broadband networks. Last year, cable operator Comcast admitted that it slowed down some peer-to-peer traffic to better manage its network. Comcast is currently under scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which is looking at whether the company's practices violate Net neutrality principles.

Other carriers have also expressed concern over the use of peer-to-peer technology. Time Warner said it is testing a tiered service to discourage people from using peer-to-peer applications.

But many networking experts say that P2P is actually the best and most efficient way to deliver video, especially high-definition video, which, when streamed, eats up vast amounts of bandwidth throughout the entire network. Cisco's investment in a budding peer-to-peer delivery platform could help speed up developments in the technology that will make even more efficient use of networks.

Pando Networks, a company offering a legal peer-to-peer software, will distribute shows for the troubled NBC Direct site, according to a press release issued by the companies.

With Pando's P2P technology, NBC claims that it is now the first "major US TV network to provide millions of viewers free DVD-quality downloads of their favorite shows," according to a press release.

NBC Direct will begin integrating the P2P technology in a beta version in coming months, the companies said. The new NBC Direct service will include various anti-piracy features, including hash matching, digital fingerprinting and content watermarking. Pando is also encrypting the video.

The story was first reported by the blog Mediabistro.

It's ironic how different Europe can be from the United States. While the U.S. continues its mindless rampage against the future of digital distribution with DRM, RIAA, MPAA, and other acronyms designed to stuff the 21st century back into the 20th century's ideas of how to package and sell property, Europe is actually investing in that future. To be exact, it's putting $22 million toward peer-to-peer technology, in a BitTorrent-minded project called P2P-Next.

Surely European broadcasters are against the move, right? After all, research suggests that 50 percent of those using BitTorrent are doing so to steal TV shows. As one TorrentFreak blogger noted, however, European broadcasters believe this situation presents an opportunity rather than a threat:

One of the biggest names taking part is the BBC, who will use the new BitTorrent client to stream TV programs. Other partners in the P2P-Next project are the European Broadcasting Union, Lancaster University, Markenfilm, Pioneer Digital Design Centre Limited and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The main goal is to develop an open source, BitTorrent-compatible client that supports live streaming.

... Read more

Time Warner Cable is testing a new pricing structure where heavy broadband users will be charged based on how much data they transfer, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

A trial for the new pricing scheme is expected to begin in Beaumont, Texas, later this year. Time Warner is testing the new pricing model to see if it can curb usage of peer-to-peer applications on its network, said Alex Dudley, a spokesman for the company.

Peer-to-peer protocols allow users to access content that is distributed throughout the network on other computers running the same application. It's commonly used to transfer music and video files, as well as other large data files.

Service providers, such as AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner, have been complaining recently that peer-to-peer traffic eats up valuable bandwidth. AT&T argues that much of this traffic is used to distribute illegal content, and the company is testing filtering technology to block it.

Comcast has taken a different approach. It has used traffic shaping to slow down some kinds of peer-to-peer traffic. These moves have prompted outcries from consumer groups, and the Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating whether Comcast has violated any of its policies or principles.

Meanwhile, Time Warner thinks that metering bandwidth usage will help solve the problem.

"The idea is to create a more consistent, enhanced experience for our customers," Dudley said. "We can't allow a small percentage of customers to use an inordinate amount of the network to the detriment of the majority of customers."

My first impression of this new model is that Time Warner is treading on some dangerous territory. What is ironic to me is that the company will probably scare off the very high-end customers it wants to attract.

Think about this. Today Time Warner offers a fixed priced for data service. The fastest speed service available is for 10 Mbps downloads and 512 kbps uploads for $44.95 a month. Someone who is willing to spend $45 a month for 10 Mbps of bandwidth is probably the same person who uses peer-to-peer applications. Your basic run-of-the-mill users are probably subscribing to the cheaper 1.5 Mbps/256 kbps service for $29.95

I can almost guarantee you that the $44.95 customers are also savvy enough to know that they are going to lose in the metered-Web model. And they will likely just switch to a competitor, such as Verizon Communications, which offers 15 Mbps downloads and 2 Mbps uploads on its Fios fiber service for $53 a month. Of course, the problem for most consumers is that Fios isn't available everywhere.