Mark Cuban to ISPs: Block P-to-P traffic

Mark Cuban has a message for you peer-to-peer people: Get the hell off his lawn.

The twinkle-toed Dallas Mavericks owner, who made his billions in technology and his reputation as a courtside motor-mouth, minces not a word when addressing the recent controversy involving Comcast and its manipulation of P-to-P traffic:

As a consumer, I want my internet experience to be as fast as possible. The last thing I want slowing my internet service down are P2P freeloaders. That's right, P2P content distributors are nothing more than freeloaders. The only person/organization that benefits from P2P usage are those that are trying to distribute content and want to distribute it on someone else's bandwidth dime.

He's just taking off the warm-ups.

Does anyone really think it's free? That all the bandwidth consumed with content being distributed by P2P isn't being paid for by someone ? That bandwidth is being paid for by consumers. Consumers who pay for personal, not commercial applications. When consumers provide their bandwidth to assist commercial applications, they are subsidizing those commercial applications which if it isn't already, should be against an ISPs terms of service.

His solution: ISPs need to charge a premium for P-to-P purveyance.

That will stop P2P dead in its tracks. P2P isn't so good that people will use it when they have to pay for all the bandwidth it consumes. It will die a quick death. That will speed up my Internet connection.

At least he doesn't try to hide his agenda, let's give him that point.

Cuban's readers, normally a supportive bunch, were for the most part less so this time. Here's one example:

Just what the world needs. Comcast and Mark Cuban making judgment calls about how individuals use their bandwidth. Somehow we're supposed to believe that every customer viewing IPTV and listening to their iTunes library from work is ethical overuse, but P2P is the devil's food. When I pay for internet access, it's just that, internet, not whatever subset you or Comcast deem to be acceptable based on your business interests.

Don't expect him to back down: Cuban strikes me as the type who can take a charge without flinching.

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