[e2e] Re: crippled Internet

[RJ Atkinson]

At 16:09 17/04/01, David P. Reed wrote:
>But the access companies who are selling "crippled Internet" -browser-only access to one full-bore personal computer per home (cable companies and DSL ISPs) are stifling the experimentation and roll-out of the applications, devices, and services that might otherwise be deployed.

        I'm not aware of any cable companies that are doing this.
I have had TCI at Home in the past, who do not do this.  I currently
have RoadRunner and they aren't doing it either.  Between them,
RR and @Home are the only major cable ISPs, so I can't figure
out who you could be talking about.  My only RoadRunner gripe
is that their peering arrangements aren't as good as @Home's were.
My only TCI at Home gripe when using their service was really a 
problem with TCI's cable plant that @Home couldn't do anything 
about.  Milo has been pretty consistent from day-1 at @Home
that @Home provides dial-tone residential IP service.  Some
particular cable operators (e.g. Comcast) have policy restricitons
on VPN/telecommuter uses, but these aren't enforced AFAIK.

        Similarly, I don't know of any DSL ISPs with restrictions
to browser-only access.  I've looked into DSL recently, so maybe
this is something unique to your local marketplace.  

        Clearly it is not common in most of the US for either 
a Cable/DSL ISP to provide restricted browser-only access.
If you think otherwise, naming specific examples would lend
some credibility to what currently looks like a broad invalid
claim from where I sit.

Ran
rja at inet.org