Up until the last few days I thought the cable monopoly in Dublin (UPC/Chorus NTL) was quite enlightened…offering a 20mb downstream/1.5mb upstream connection for a semi-reasonable premium rate. As I pressed the button on my installation order I had visions of HD streaming from the US and ridiculously fast downloads. However immediately after the installation little issues started popping up. 

The first problem was with my Sling Client which connects to a Slingbox in Fort Myers, FL. We have been using this setup for the past 1.5 years, while in the UK, and it worked brilliantly. When I fired up Sling Client on my new 20mbps connection it would quickly connect and start streaming at over 1000kbps, after 2-3 minutes of viewing the client would burn through the cached video and eventually disconnect when it hit zero. At first I played the blame game with local wifi interference, then my router configuration, then the Sling Client…however one by one each of these was eliminated as the source of trouble. 

Eventually I figured out that my cable provider Chorus NTL (a UPC Company) is shaping the data that is flowing across its network. In the US the FCC has come down pretty hard on Comcast for violating net neutrality, however the situation in Europe appears quite different. There are reports that Virgin Media is abandoning the principles of neutrality starting in 2009, suggesting “broadcasters might be asked to pay to have their content delivered across is fibre-optic network.” 

Leaving aside the “fairness” argument of net neutrality, people who sign-up for a premium broadband connection are obviously not using it to just browse websites and check email. Perhaps I am naive, but I expect my ISP to offer flexibility and fair access to all legal applications and uses, not just those deemed by them to be allowable.