[TelstraClear] iTunes Data Charges

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gehenna

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Topic # 25775 1-Sep-2008 12:09

I have a quickie for some talented and knowledgable GZer or TCer...

Does TelstraClear charge for iTunes traffic? I've heard of a lot of ISPs overseas that DON'T charge for iTunes traffic and was wondering if TelstraClear do, and if so are there plans to NOT charge for this traffic. I'd use iTunes movies a lot more if I knew I wasn't chewing through 1.5GB of my much needed monthly cap to use the service.

Who's with me?!

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Reply # 161230 1-Sep-2008 12:20

I'm with you as well but I suspect that unless the IsPs get top clip the $$ ticket on the way there will be no free download..

Regards,

Old3eyes

olof

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Reply # 161242 1-Sep-2008 12:42

gehenna,

Unfortunately, we do charge for iTunes traffic.

We do not have any direct business relationship with Apple from an iTunes perspective. This means that we do charge for traffic,

just as we charge for traffic to other services. The only traffic that is zero-rated today are the Clearnet game servers.

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gehenna

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Reply # 161263 1-Sep-2008 14:04

olof: gehenna,

Unfortunately, we do charge for iTunes traffic.

We do not have any direct business relationship with Apple from an iTunes perspective. This means that we do charge for traffic,
just as we charge for traffic to other services. The only traffic that is zero-rated today are the Clearnet game servers.

Any plans to open discussion in that direction? Seems an awful shame to have such a great service as the iTunes movie store but to be hindered by the way in which traffic is billed/routed within the country. If this new direction and business model is to take hold in NZ we need pioneers, much like TelstraClear have been in the past with their superb cable service, to help consumers buy-in to the service itself.

alsta

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Reply # 161268 1-Sep-2008 14:13

http://www.iinet.net.au/my/itunes/

These guys seem to do it easily enough.....

gehenna

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Reply # 161271 1-Sep-2008 14:18

alsta: http://www.iinet.net.au/my/itunes/

These guys seem to do it easily enough.....

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

olof

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Reply # 161287 1-Sep-2008 15:10

alsta: http://www.iinet.net.au/my/itunes/

These guys seem to do it easily enough.....

Technically this is not an issue. It is a commercial/product/policy decision. I have forwarded your request/feedback to our product management team. :-)

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manhinli

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Reply # 161289 1-Sep-2008 15:16

alsta: http://www.iinet.net.au/my/itunes/

These guys seem to do it easily enough.....

... and iinet were the previous owners of ihug...

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gehenna

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Reply # 161337 1-Sep-2008 17:35

olof:
alsta: http://www.iinet.net.au/my/itunes/

These guys seem to do it easily enough.....

Technically this is not an issue. It is a commercial/product/policy decision. I have forwarded your request/feedback to our product management team. :-)

It's appreciated Olof! There is no point having a service like iTunes, both Movies and potentially TV in NZ if there aren't some concessions made by our ISPs to foster the growth of these services. Thanks for taking the initiative to pass this on!

Screeb

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Reply # 161343 1-Sep-2008 18:10

There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

CrispinMullins

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Reply # 161348 1-Sep-2008 18:30

Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

What they could do, for example, is serve all iTunes traffic from the new Akamai server in the Sky Tower and agree to zero-rate all content served from any servers in that location, no matter whose it was. That would satisfy the ComCom.

itxtme

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Reply # 161363 1-Sep-2008 19:14

Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

The ISP would not be doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They will be taking a cut of the itunes store. Or they would be sending the bill of the bandwidth through to itunes (maybe only at cost). The sheer scale of the bandwidth in question makes it a lot cheaper to charge just itunes for it and also creates a new selling point for the ISP.

Screeb

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Reply # 161371 1-Sep-2008 19:32

itxtme:
Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

The ISP would not be doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They will be taking a cut of the itunes store. Or they would be sending the bill of the bandwidth through to itunes (maybe only at cost). The sheer scale of the bandwidth in question makes it a lot cheaper to charge just itunes for it and also creates a new selling point for the ISP.

Well yes, exactly, and it's thus breaking net neutrality.

olof

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Reply # 161438 2-Sep-2008 07:59

Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

Net neutrality is interesting for sure. However, there are no regulations or law for net neutrality in NZ, so I do not think that the ComCom

would be interested. At least not for the moment!

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gehenna

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Reply # 161476 2-Sep-2008 10:06

Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

I think you're on the wrong track. Lots of ISPs offer free local/national traffic. Our business plan has free national traffic 24/7 and free international off-peak. ISP's are in competition with each other and its this type of competitive service that ensures their success in the market. I see what you're saying about net neutrality but I'm not sure it applies here. As far as I'm concerned, servers based within NZ SHOULD provide better service than those overseas. After all, we can pretty much guarantee speeds within the country. Once we leave our shores we're at the mercy of the international pipes. ISPs should be supporting those services within NZ. If we were being offered a guaranteed Mbps rate to a server in Australia or Europe or America, THEN i'd be a bit wary of the net neutrality argument.

morat

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Reply # 161588 2-Sep-2008 16:00

Screeb:
itxtme:
Screeb: There's a potential problem with this... net neutrality. If TelstraClear (or any other ISP) makes a commercial deal with Apple to remove the data usage, then it breaks net neutrality, because it disadvantages iTunes' competitors. I don't think the ComCom would be too happy about that.

The ISP would not be doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They will be taking a cut of the itunes store. Or they would be sending the bill of the bandwidth through to itunes (maybe only at cost). The sheer scale of the bandwidth in question makes it a lot cheaper to charge just itunes for it and also creates a new selling point for the ISP.

Well yes, exactly, and it's thus breaking net neutrality.

I disagree. While I can see where you're coming from, I think this would be more akin to a web based company ensuring that visitors to its site get a better experience by buying a bigger pipe to the net.

There is an exchange of data occuring between iTunes and the customer. Only one end of the link is being charged for this exchange, and no changes are being made to any other site's service.

Net neutrality is only broken if you're paying to improve your service _at the expense of others_. If you pay extra to get better service with no impact on anyone else, this is perfectly normal.

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