Friday, August 31, 2007

Bandwidth could be a new global 'currency'

Enron saw it coming:

Bandwidth could become a form of "currency" with users paying for downloaded files by uploading more data themselves, researchers say.

The goal is to ensure that future content, particularly video, is distributed as fairly and efficiently as possible.

Computer scientists have have used the idea to develop peer-to-peer file-sharing software, which they are asking computer users to try out. They hope eventually to create a "global marketplace in bandwidth", where people can trade it as a commodity....

Now, a little cap for artificial scarcity; a little trade, throw in some U.N. regulation and we've got us a "market" (or a comedy souffle).

From NewScientistTech