Observations of an Internet Middleman (Level3) (was: RIP

[blake at ispn.net (Blake Hudson)]

Jay Ashworth wrote the following on 5/16/2014 10:35 AM:
> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mark Tinka" <mark.tinka at seacom.mu>
>> While that is true a lot of the time (especially for eyeball
>> networks), it is less so now due to social media. Social
>> media forces the use of symmetric bandwidth (like FTTH),
>> putting even more demand on the network,
> Oh yes; clearly, Twitter will be the end of L3.
>
> :-)
>
> Could you expand a bit, Mark on "Social media forces the use of symmetric
> bandwidth"?  Which social media platform is it that you think has a)
> symmetrical flows that b) are big enough to figure into transit symmetry?
>
> Cheers,
> -- jra
Applications like Skype and Facetime (especially conference calls) would 
be one example where an application benefits from symmetric (or 
asymmetric in favor of higher upload speed) connectivity. Cloud office 
applications like storage of documents, email, and IVR telephony also 
benefit from symmetrical connectivity. Off-site backup software is 
another great example. Most residential connections are ill suited for 
this. I believe these applications (and derivatives) would be more 
popular today if the connectivity was available.

--Blake