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Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

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Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#91

Post by Tor3 »

kingosticks wrote: post #85
Tor3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I'm in Japan and want to talk with my insurance company, bank, or airline over on the other side of the world, there's just one way: A phone number. Which is the (main) reason I'm still using Skype. There are other, and sometimes better, alternatives for video/chat/group chats/photos etc. But still nothing that competes with Skype's phone support, although Skype in general has degenerated a lot since the early d…

Is viber still around? I used to use that.

viber is still operating. But I've never used it. Their landline calling system is 'package'-based, unlike the very straight forward Skype setup. On viber's web site there's not even a simple way of listing the countries they support. You have to 'search' for a country, and then you get an offer of various packages to use. Way too much hassle, and too limited (you have to buy a 'package' for each country you want to call. Not very convenient).

For ordinary chats, groups, video conversations, file / movie / photo / album sharing etc. I use Naver Line, as nearly every Japanese do as far as I can tell.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#92

Post by joncrocks »

intralizee wrote: post #6
ComputerGuru wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that was phased out when they merged infrastructures with Microsoft’s existing, post-merge.

Anyone know why they phased that out? Seems like a performance benefit and not many downsides I can think about warranting removal.

As far as I understand, Skype never owned the IP around the P2P solution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_Technologies#P2P_licensi...

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#93

Post by oarsinsync »

zuisan wrote: post #77
pjc50 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do I apply to get my Twitter clone zero-rated?

You have to talk to the ISP.

And then how do I get the ISP to advertise my service as being free to use, the same way they do for Facebook?

It's not much help that my clone is also free to use if nobody knows unless they go hunting through the fine print, as the initial assumption will be that it's a charged-for alternative.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#94

Post by newsbinator »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #63
newsbinator wrote: post #58

Not that it's Skype's fault they're getting throttled, but I wish I had an alternative to Skype. I haven't found a service that lets me dial worldwide (particularly USA/Canada) at anywhere near the rates Skype offers.

Fwiw Google voice has free US calling and pretty decent reache rates

I can't get my phone to ring with Google Voice / Google Hangouts incoming calls. Tried every setting possible: always goes to voicemail.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#95

Post by newsbinator »

kingosticks wrote: post #85
Tor3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I'm in Japan and want to talk with my insurance company, bank, or airline over on the other side of the world, there's just one way: A phone number. Which is the (main) reason I'm still using Skype. There are other, and sometimes better, alternatives for video/chat/group chats/photos etc. But still nothing that competes with Skype's phone support, although Skype in general has degenerated a lot since the early d…

Is viber still around? I used to use that.

Very popular in Eastern Europe.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#96

Post by viraptor »

konschubert wrote: post #64
viraptor wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately we're unlikely to know if it's: - cheaper social - more expensive non-social - combination of those two I really don't expect it's the first option, unless they're really in a race to the bottom. The third option makes sense even without subsidies - offer something "nice" to typical customers and offset it with other traffic.

There is no actual difference between those three options. The only thing that matters is that Whatsapp messenger is cheaper to use than, for example, signal messenger.

There is a difference to people who actually care a lot about how much they spend. A deal with FB may mean a local cache/interconnect and actual cheaper prices. Making other things more expensive because you're just trying to differentiate from competition is a money grab.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#97

Post by close04 »

konschubert wrote: post #64
viraptor wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately we're unlikely to know if it's: - cheaper social - more expensive non-social - combination of those two I really don't expect it's the first option, unless they're really in a race to the bottom. The third option makes sense even without subsidies - offer something "nice" to typical customers and offset it with other traffic.

There is no actual difference between those three options. The only thing that matters is that Whatsapp messenger is cheaper to use than, for example, signal messenger.

There is because it's quite different if you get one thing cheaper than normal, or if you get another more expensive than normal. Imagine next time you climb into a taxi the driver says "just for you I'll charge 20% extra". Pretty sure it will be different from hearing that somebody else got a 20% discount.

So making WhatsApp cheaper than the base price is one thing. Making Signal more expensive than the base price is quite different.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#98

Post by horsebutler »

sublupo wrote: post #32
aberoham wrote: post #17

My Zoom meetings via CenturyLink have become progressively worse since Net Neutrality bit the dust. Anyone else feel the same?

I never read the text of the law, but I was told that a part of removing net neutrality, companies would have to say what they were throttling. Is that not the case?

Yes, that's not the case.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#99

Post by sonnyblarney »

Tip of the iceberg.

Carriers see communication services as their turf, and they go to byzantine lengths to protect that.

Politically it can get funny.

If you work at a handset manufacturer, and sit in on sales calls, and one of your team members brings up anything remotely related to this or VOIP, you might see the carrier buyers get visibly upset and literally walk out of the room.

I could never tell if they were 'actually' upset, or 'pretend professionally' upset.

But it's funny the games that are played.

Re: Sprint Is Throttling Skype, Study Finds

#100

Post by zuisan »

oarsinsync wrote: post #93
zuisan wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to talk to the ISP.

And then how do I get the ISP to advertise my service as being free to use, the same way they do for Facebook? It's not much help that my clone is also free to use if nobody knows unless they go hunting through the fine print, as the initial assumption will be that it's a charged-for alternative.

Obviously your ISP is not going to advertise ALL social apps, that would be a huge list. As an example take this:

https://www.vodafone.es/c/particulares/es/productos-y-servic...

"use all your social network apps without using up your data allowance", and then they show you a list of apps, but all social apps should be zero-rated and if they are not you can report it. Same with video apps, music apps, etc.

If you think this is so bad, then ask consumers if they like it or not. People here seem to put their principles before what consumers actually want or not. The job of the market is to serve consumers. Paying 3€ a month to have unlimited data on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is a sweet deal for 99% of consumers here I'm sure.

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