oligopoly « Skype Journal

AT&T to cap DSL in May. Bad for Skype’s users?

Phil Wolff 14 March 2011 6:01 am

Artificial scarcity produces monopoly profits. Especially in markets without (real) competition. So AT&T (T), one of a handful of landline and mobile broadband providers in the US, will cap residential DSL and charge for overages. The cap: 150 GB or 250GB depending on the plan; the penalty, $1 for 5 GB.

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competition | netneutrality | politics | Skype

Comcast holds its users for ransom; Bad for Skypers

Phil Wolff 30 November 2010 10:14 pm

Ars Technica has a much better and detailed explanation for what’s going on between Level 3 and Comcast. In short, ISPs move data over the internet in two ways: directly to their destination (termination) and through other networks before they get to their destination (transit). US oligopolist cable company Comcast does both.

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