VUZE: How A "Content Pirate" Is Taking On Comcast and ISPs Who "Throttle" Internet Traffic

amp160But it was a legal brief that Vuze filed with the FCC in November asking the government body to revisit its Internet Policy Statement on broadband and to specifically define what is quotreasonable network managementquot that has made the company an overnight star and elevated it into a leadership role even as it carefully balances its relationships with ISPs content providers and users The 16page document explicitly named Comcast for traffic shaping and asked the FCC to forbid Comcast quotfrom unreasonably discriminating against lawful Internet applications content and technologiesquotamp160 Last Friday Comcast filed its response to the FCC While the cable provider declined to share the substance of its brief with the media terming its response as a confidential request for information it released a statement that quotComcast does not has not and will not block any Web sites or online applications including peertopeer servicesquotIn an exclusive interview with JackMyers Media Business Report Vuze CEO Gilles BianRosa described Vuze39s transition from content pirate to White Knight and shared the rationale for calling out Comcast He also discussed how its recent investor windfall will be deployed in 2008SOLD OUT Advertising Women of New York 5th Annual WHAT39S HOT IN MEDIA BUYING2008 Wednesday January 30th featuring Jack Myers Robin Steinberg Kris Magel Chris Paul and Steve RidleyLast fall cable subscriber John Hart made headlines with his lawsuit against the ISP for performance slowdowns when using quotblocked applicationsquot as defined by Sandvine Comcast39s traffic management application Mainstream media was quick to describe the actions as quottraffic throttlingquot while Slashdotters perceived it as something more insidious Not only was the cable operator discriminating against lawful Internet applications but some alleged it was violating Federal computer fraud laws So why enter the frayBianRosa observed quotIn the last 18 months ISPs started to unilaterally shape traffic deciding what you can and cannot do with an Internet connectionquot Vuze perceived that such arbitrary actions threatened to undermine if not dismantle its business model After his staff detected clandestine attempts to degrade and block content by Comcast Vuze recognized that its position in the marketplace made it a natural spokesman Says BianRosa quotWe touch consumers content creators and ISPs We know that it39s pointless to prevent users from watching videos it39s like spitting into the wind Rather P2P is an effective means of downloading content one that the creators of the WWW couldn39t have had in mind as the Internet was originally designed for text and images The infrastructure needs to evolve it39s antiquatedquotWith telcos and cable companies likewise in the business of delivery content perhaps this is merely a preemptive strategy to thwart the competition BianRosa demurs quotCertainly I am not saying what their interest is but it would be worrisome if this were the case We want to raise the flag that there is a risk here for unfair competition That is why we filed a petition for rulemaking The FCC published their policy statement for broadband guidelines but it39s not enough especially given what39s at stakequot BianRosa asserts that there must be transparency regarding an ISP39s network management policy to both users and third party providers quotOnce you have this transparency in place then you can institute standards The Internet works because of HTTP standards it39s a platform for innovation And we can achieve more if we39re not expending effort playing the cat and mouse game that39s going on nowquotBianRosa is quick to note that P2P and by extension Vuze has been deliberately mischaracterized as a pirate platform It39s actually the most efficient means to delivery content and saves the company millions in broadband costs enabling it to reallocate resources and offer HiDef content and longform videosOn January 15 the FCC published Vuze39s brief The published paper will not only generate a response from Comcast but the FCC has instituted a public comment period reference WC Docket no 0752 through February 13 After that window closes Vuze has two weeks to offer a rebuttal It anticipates that this robust discussion will not only jumpstart a public debate on the issue but offer a tangible way to make progress on Net Neutrality Certainly the recent trial balloons sent up by ATampampT to filter content for intellectual property infringement and Time Warner Cable39s program to meter consumer pricing based on usage both add gasoline to the fireVuze39s recent Anime content deal is a nobrainer given the company39s demo seemingly peripheral to this meaty discussion But BianRosa looks beyond any categorical imperative quotAnime is completely crippled by piracy There39s a correlation between piracy and how narrowly available content is For us focusing on Anime was a way not only to be more relevant to our user base but to make a point Anime is a small scale example of how it could work in the future Anime fans are peculiar They want the content in original language with subtitles We actually did the subtitling then we own the rights Because our user base is so used to not paying for things this is the best way for those companies to reach them and monetize itquotWith the latest investment Vuze intends to focus on its global audience in over a hundred countries North America accounts for approximately 30 percent of its traffic BianRosa sees the funding as a means to quotsupport our growth and to accelerate the user experiencequot He emphasizes that we39re in a time of flux that the company39s tools are agnostic allowing content providers to experiment with monetization DRM fingerprinting advertising and VoD The addition of Mike Ramsey cofounder and former CEO of TiVo to the Vuze board is both an injection of intellectual capital and a confirmation that the enterprise has legsAsked what fine point continues to elude the industry BianRosa is emphatic quotIn order to make IPTV work you essentially need to make money on every stream People tend to forget that For us the way to make money is to drastically lower the cost by delivering via a P2P network and offering a higher quality TVtype experience that is full screen HD and longform thereby attracting advertisers of a different class TV advertisers We then achieve a CPM at a level that you can actually turn a dollar every time you streamquotGilles BianRosa can be reached at contactjackmyerscom

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VUZE: How A "Content Pirate" Is Taking On Comcast and ISPs Who "Throttle" Internet Traffic

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