Verizon API To Give Apps 'Turbo' Bandwidth Boost by Mark Hachman November 1, 2011
Verizon will publish an API that could allow consumers to "turbocharge" the network bandwidth their smartphone apps use for a small fee, executives said Tuesday.
Verizon anticipates that a customer running an app on a smartphone will have the option to dynamically snatch more bandwidth for that app, if network congestion slows it down, said Hugh Fletcher, associate director for technology in Verizon's Product Development and Technology team. The app, however, must be running what Verizon referred to as the network optimization API it is currently developing, and hopes to publish by the third quarter of 2012.
Users could have the option to pay for the extra bandwidth via a separate microtransaction API Verizon is developing and hopes to have in place by the end of 2012, Fletcher said.
At an open-house event at Verizon's Application Innovation Center in San Francisco, Verizon executives showcased several partner efforts, plus their own in-house technology development. Probably the most noteworthy was the network optimization technology, which took a high-quality video stream and simulated it running over a congested network. When a Verizon engineer pushed a "turbo button," the video's choppy frame rate and apparent quality improved.
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Hmmm, this puts a slant on "Net Neutrality".
***** Moderator's Note *****If the bandwidth increase comes from the same pipe that others are still using, this "service" effectively denies bandwidth to others when it delivers it to the purchaser. I predict an automagic e-auction conducted every few milliseconds, which will separate the wealthy from the not when both want access to information, especially time-sensitive information that affects the stock, option, commodities, and other markets, when time is of the essence.
Oh, and I _love_ the mealy-mouthed salesman-speak. It's not even a payment, it's a "transaction"! It's a "micro" transaction, too small to even think about! Open your micro-wallet, micro-suckers! Let Verizon take all your micro-money!
Bill Horne Moderator