UK mobile operator 3 is introducing traffic shaping to its mobile data and broadband services on Monday (16 November) in a bid to free up bandwidth.
Only users of peer-to-peer file sharing applications hogging an unfair share of bandwidth will be affected. The company has decided to leave video streaming users untouched for now. So far, other UK mobile operators have yet to clamp down on usage.
Neil Barton, director of web hosting companyHostway UK said that the trend for traffic shaping was extending to the web, as companies sought to provide valued customers with a top-notch service.
“We are already talking to content and website owners about prioritising their website traffic to help optimise the experience for ‘premium’ visitors. For example, e-commerce sites can prioritise visitors who have put goods in their basket, so pages load more quickly than for those who are simply browsing. This can help cut down on lost revenue from abandoned baskets, and minimise the disastrous effect of impatient customers going elsewhere as pages load. Ultimately, this is all about balancing the cost of doing business on the internet with the cost of losing business, said Barton.
