The Glasnost Project which is a study by some German researchers on broadband networks released a preliminary report on 15th May 2008 of the findings with regard to the manipulation of BitTorrent traffic. The report was based on the 8,000 people from all around the world who have participated thus far, of which 70 'brave souls' were from Singapore.
The results were nothing surprising with 9 ISPs from USA practising blocking behaviour of BitTorrent traffic. However, what is very surprising is that our dear Starhub is the biggest culprit outside of the US who blocks BitTorrent traffic. Out of the 70 users from Singapore who participated in the test, 45 were using a Starhub connection with 26 of them being blocked. The rest of the Singapore-based users' traffic provided by 5 other ISPs was not blocked.
Overall, in comparison to the whole world, Comcast of USA was found to have blocked 491 out of 788 connections (62.3%), Cox of the USA was found to have blocked 82 out of 151 connections (54.3%) and Starhub was found to have blocked 26 out of 45 connections (57.8%). That means Starhub is quite possibly the second or third 'worst' ISP in the world to use as far as BitTorrent file transfer is concerned.
Essentially, these findings do fit nicely with anecdotal evidence from various Starhub users who often complain that their BitTorrent downloads are not as fast as when compared to users of other ISPs who are downloading the same file at the same time.
What surprises me though is that the local media do not seem to have picked up on this in the last week with no reports to be found on the local scene. Inversely, the results have been reported and/or discussed in renowned international media outlets such as The New York Times and The Inquirer. I think this is a relatively important issue (some have called this a scandal, in fact) that should be discussed openly with some (if not a full) explanation provided. If Starhub is indeed blocking BitTorrent activity, then what other interferences could there be in our online experience, I wonder.
Granted I could just pose this question to Starhub directly, but as any Starhub customer will tell you - the prices may be comparatively cheaper as far as their services go but when you pay relative peanuts, you get relative monkeys - their customer service is absolute rubbish most of the time.
Hence, I would rather post here for all to see and think for themselves whilst waiting for the momentum to (hopefully) build up before Starhub finally answers publicly. Well, isn't that how our corporations like to handle things anyway - right after the shit hits the fan?
The results were nothing surprising with 9 ISPs from USA practising blocking behaviour of BitTorrent traffic. However, what is very surprising is that our dear Starhub is the biggest culprit outside of the US who blocks BitTorrent traffic. Out of the 70 users from Singapore who participated in the test, 45 were using a Starhub connection with 26 of them being blocked. The rest of the Singapore-based users' traffic provided by 5 other ISPs was not blocked.
Overall, in comparison to the whole world, Comcast of USA was found to have blocked 491 out of 788 connections (62.3%), Cox of the USA was found to have blocked 82 out of 151 connections (54.3%) and Starhub was found to have blocked 26 out of 45 connections (57.8%). That means Starhub is quite possibly the second or third 'worst' ISP in the world to use as far as BitTorrent file transfer is concerned.
image source: P2Pnet
(reproduced from original source)
(reproduced from original source)
Essentially, these findings do fit nicely with anecdotal evidence from various Starhub users who often complain that their BitTorrent downloads are not as fast as when compared to users of other ISPs who are downloading the same file at the same time.
What surprises me though is that the local media do not seem to have picked up on this in the last week with no reports to be found on the local scene. Inversely, the results have been reported and/or discussed in renowned international media outlets such as The New York Times and The Inquirer. I think this is a relatively important issue (some have called this a scandal, in fact) that should be discussed openly with some (if not a full) explanation provided. If Starhub is indeed blocking BitTorrent activity, then what other interferences could there be in our online experience, I wonder.
Granted I could just pose this question to Starhub directly, but as any Starhub customer will tell you - the prices may be comparatively cheaper as far as their services go but when you pay relative peanuts, you get relative monkeys - their customer service is absolute rubbish most of the time.
Hence, I would rather post here for all to see and think for themselves whilst waiting for the momentum to (hopefully) build up before Starhub finally answers publicly. Well, isn't that how our corporations like to handle things anyway - right after the shit hits the fan?
Footnote: Temasek Holdings has a 56.97% 'deemed interest' in Starhub.
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