An Emerging Threat to Cloud Computing?

I recently wrote about server-based "cloud" computing and its potential to help volunteer groups synchronize internally with a level of elegant ease that does not depend on sharing specific pieces of software or machines. I also noted that despite these benefits, it might take awhile to get an assortment of users to converge on a single online platform, because the expertise of individual members varies widely and they may be wedded to old routines that are hard to change.

Nonetheless I was optimistic that many everyday users would soon be converging online to take care of everyday business. It simply makes too much sense not to do it.

Shortly after that post, John Dvorak on Cranky Geeks reminded me of a different threat to the spread of cloud computing and Web 2.0 -- metered bandwidth.

Cable companies such as Time-Warner, Comcast and AT&T are all testing it in selected markets, using a "utility model" in which the heavier Internet users pay more per month. This could put a big kink in  emerging services, especially if Jane and John Doe feel an extra need to start watching their budgets.

It hasn't hit any computers in my neighborhood yet, but Dvorak has been experimenting. His casual tests suggested he might exceed his monthly quota with simple daily use for email and web surfing; forget watching bunches of movies or doing deep research.

John's biggest gripe was that his cableco did not show how much he had used, how close he was to exceeding the limit, or advise him on how to stay within it.

 

Co-Crank Sebastian Rupley and others thought that putting a meter on the bit pipe was less about system capacity than a way to add income. Rupley noted true stress on the sustem had other antidotes (like capping daily bandwidth at a rate reflecting real abuse).

In all events, the cablecos do have the power to tier their Internet pricing to charge more to those who use more. But this would be a knee in an uncomfortable place to the emerging arena of cloud apps and online deliveries for outfits like Netflix. It could also moot the efforts of people like me who hope to help bring more late adapters online.

In brief, it would seem that nothing about this initiative adds consumer benefit, while much about it could be inhibiting to future enterprise. We can only hope they drop this experiment soon, since in challenging times, we need more space to innovate, not less.

 

Meanwhile, it all makes me glad that I stuck with DSL, since my telco still has no problem with serving me all I can eat.