Tromboning: Internet Traffic Begins to Bypass the U.S.

[R.A. Hettinga]

On Aug 30, 2008, at 7:09 PM, Allen wrote:

> Hi RAH, (should that be HurRAH?)

That's Mizzou-RAH, to you, sir. :-) (BA Philosophy, Class of '84,  
though it shoulda been '81. Minored in Beer-bong, or something-bong,  
anyway, dropped out, transfered credit from UofC a few years later to  
graduate)

> So when your fingers get itchy to do something other than twiddle,  
> perhaps you could DIY and provide a useful service to fellow  
> Anguillans. After all you are not a provider so you are exempt from  
> that bit of anti-competitive BS.

Actually, I remember all kinds of verbage (I've been reminded  
about...) from the local oligopoly (political and telecommunications)  
about how I can't resell/transfer/share. Still, mebbe I can weasel  
something, heh, political, to solve that problem.

> Hummm, which leads me to thinking about doing the same thing here in  
> San Francisco but Comcast will ding me if I go over 250G/month.

There's that. Caribbean Cable, mysteriously, throttles bittorent  
packets during daylight hours. Must be the Harsh Caribbean Sun  
blinding the fiber optics, somehow. ;-)

> How hard do you think they can bleed people before people move on/ 
> toss it?

Well, there *is* competition, of a sort, to the extent you can get a  
cablemodem or DSL (Single-Static-IP PPoE lives, at least in the  
Eastern Caribbean) There was even a static WiFi outfit, for a while,  
but Anguilla's a nation about the size of heh, Wasilla AK, more or  
less, so "market" is kind of a loose term. Like Mark Twain said, no  
man's life or property is safe when the legislature is in session --  
and the gov.ai's legislature's in permanent session. A majority of  
four guys can mess up your whole day faster than you can say "Border  
Gateway Protocol"...

Besides, I'm retired. No. Seriously. It says so, right there on my  
passport stamp: "EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED". Definitely an appeal to my  
Inner Peckerwood Slacker if I ever did see one, Itellyawhot...

Cheers,
RAH