The Implications of Video Peer-to-Peer on Network Usage

The tsunami is upon us. A rising tide of video Peer-to-Peer² activity is already beginning to affect data networks. And video Peer-to-Peer traffic will inexorably grow in the years ahead. Video Peer-to-Peer will expand beyond unauthorized sharing of commercial pre-recorded content, becoming a significant driver of broadband usage and potentially creating new revenue streams. Meanwhile, because of its sheer bulk and technical characteristics, video Peer-to-Peer traffic will place significant strains on broadband networks. Thus, video Peer-to-Peer will influence both the outputs and the inputs of the Internet of the future.

The network usage implications of video Peer-to-Peer are not widely appreciated. To date, most of the attention devoted to Peer-to-Peer has focused on the content of the files being transferred.3 The unauthorized dissemination of copyrighted material through Peer-to-Peer systems has considerable implications for users, artists, network operators, technology developers, device manufacturers, investors, and content distributors. Yet Peer-to-Peer, and especially video Peer-to-Peer, would have significant impacts even if none of the files involved were subject to intellectual property protection. And, though it is quite early in the development of the market, there are indications that video Peer-to-Peer will be used more actively than audio Peer-to-Peer for sharing content not subject to copyright limitations.