By Paul Sweeting, ContentAgenda
Apr 09, 2008

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Could the nascent P4P file-sharing protocol be part of Comcast's planned revamp of its network management system? Its participation in today's announcement of results from a global test of the technology could certainly lead you to think so.

"These newly released test results demonstrate the applicability of P4P to cable ISP infrastructures," Comcast CTO Tony Werner is quoted saying in the press release. "The initial results are promising, and we look forward to continuing our mutual efforts with P2P companies distributing legitimate content in order to improve the efficiency of their applications on our network."

In the semaphore of press-release writing, providing a quote like that, attributed to a high-ranking executive (as opposed to a "spokesperson") is a way for Comcast to associate itself strongly with the rest of the announcement.

Why is that important? Up to now, ISP interest in the P4P approach--which involves close collaboration between ISPs and peer-to-peer developers--had been confined largely to telcos, in particular Verizon. Comcast's participation in the announcement represents the first public endorsement of the approach from a cable MSO.

Comcast, of course, is also under pressure from the FCC to alter its current network management practices to avoid throttling P2P applications and last month announced an agreement with BitTorrent to collaborate on a new, application-neutral approach. Today's announcement of the P4P results represents the first concrete indication of at least one technological approach Comcast is pursuing as it looks to fulfill its commitment.

Spearheaded by Verizon and the P2P provider Pando Networks, the P4P initiative seeks to reduce the burden imposed on ISP networks by bi-directional peer-to-peer traffic by containing the traffic within a single network. By fulfilling download request from within a local network wherever possible, the P4P protocol can significantly reduce the connection charges ISPs incur when subscribers' computers are recruited to fulfill P2P requests from outside the network. It also promises to increase download speeds for users by reducing the distance files have to travel.

Results from early tests conducted by Verizon and announced last month showed that 58% of the traffic generated by P2P requests came from nearby Verizon subscribers, compared to an average of 6% without using the P4P protocol. Download times also improved by as much as 60%.

One of the questions hanging over the early P4P results, however, was whether the protocol would work as well on cable operators' networks, which rely on sharing bandwidth among multiple users. According to today's announcement, the approach works equally well on DSL, cable and fiber-optic networks. From the press release:

The results show increased delivery speeds by up to 235% across US cable networks and up to 898% across international broadband networks. The results also show Pando's ability to use P4P and Pando Network Aware™ technology to rout data internally across the broadband networks instead of pulling data from external sources that put more strain on the networks. For example, across US cable carriers, Pando increased the percentage of data routed internally across their networks from 2.2% to 43.4% of all downloads. This optimization reduced inter-ISP data transfers by an average of 34% (up to 43.8 % in the US and 75.1% internationally) demonstrating that network awareness provides significant network efficiencies for all ISPs.

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As part of the test that began February 21st, Pando Networks delivered video content to more than 1 million people across global broadband networks including AT&T, Bell Canada, Bezeq International, BT, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, Orange, Sasktel, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Time Warner, Tiscali, and Verizon. Pando used ISP-supplied topological data for some of the networks, such as Verizon and Telefonica, while using proprietary Pando Network Aware™ technology to deliver content across other networks such as Comcast and AT&T.

Pando Networks CEO Robert Levitan called the results "an historic turning point" in the development of peer-to-peer technology. "Finally, ISPs and P2P technology providers can work collaboratively," he said. "Our goal is an important one: scale the Internet into a better media distribution platform."
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