Cites nanog posts and presentations to prove that skype is a bandwidth hog The ceo of this company is apparently ex founder-CTO of NAP of the Americas. --srs -- Suresh Ramasubramanian (ops.lists@gmail.com) [IP] The Inquirer: Anti-Skype software kills IM, P2P too From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> To: Ip Ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Date: Mon Sep 19 19:53:14 2005 Begin forwarded message: From: Bob Drzyzgula <bob@drzyzgula.org> Date: September 19, 2005 9:47:43 AM EDT To: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Cc: Ip Ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Subject: The Inquirer: Anti-Skype software kills IM, P2P too <http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26255> | Anti-Skype software kills IM, P2P too | Bandwidth bandsaw released | By: Doug Mohney | | Monday 19 September 2005, 07:14 | | LAST WEEK, Verso Technologies (www.verso.com) | announced the rollout of a "carrier-grade applications | filter" that can block so-called bandwidth drains | such as Skype, P2P messaging, streaming media, and | instant messaging. | | Skype is singled out in the headline of the press | release. It's not a P2P blocker, it's a "Skype | Filtering Technology." | | Verso CEO Monty Bannerman, founding CTO of the NAP of | Americas, says service providers are gung-ho about | his new product offering. As a "free" service, | Skype is raiding the business model of service | providers that want to roll out VoIP services for | their customers. "They're all telling me they hate | Skype and they're telling me that they want to do | something about Skype," said Bannerman in a telephone | interview. "If you have something in your network that | is costing you money and raiding your business model, | I assure you you're going to do something about it." | | Bannerman claims that Skype and other P2P applications | were generating up to 30 per cent of existing | network traffic load as of last year according to | presentations at the North American Network Operators | Group (NANOG). Since a revenue-based service provider | isn't making any money off that traffic load, it's | not a good thing, especially if they plan to offer | their own flavor of VoIP to their customer base. Since | making the announcement, Verso has received a number | of phone calls from existing customers as well as | intrigued service providers. | | Could this technology be used to block Vonage | service? "Sure," said Bannerman. "But we wouldn't do | that." Bannerman drew a distinction between the more | heavily US-regulated Vonage and Skype, saying that | they were "different," with Vonage required to provide | E-911 service and abide by other FCC regulations, | while Skype had no such state-side regulation. He | believed he had a shot at selling some of his boxes | to Vonage in order for that company to monitor | traffic flow. | | Figuring how to measure and block Skype has been a | significant challenge, since the application has been | difficult to measure. Verso has spent over a year | and four engineering attempts to develop a platform | capable of detecting, managing, and controlling | Skype. "We are better than anyone else at this moment | in time in detecting Skype and doing something with | it, including turning it off." | | When asked if current FCC rulings and upcoming | American federal legislation to prevent application | blocking of any type would affect selling the | Skype-blocker in the States, Bannerman didn't seem | to be worried. "The World Wide Web isn't just about | America, plunk yourself anywhere else," he said. "This | is a product for the world market," and he pointed | out that there's a patchwork of regulatory schemes | around the globe. µ