Topic: Bandwidth Shaping

The BBC has threatened to publish a blacklist of Internet Service Providers that throttle or shape bandwidth for its iPlayer service. The hosts discuss the transition of cable companies like Comcast into "pipe businesses" and the inevitability of IPTV replacing traditional cable television.

The hosts address ongoing technical difficulties with Skype, speculating that internet service providers like British Telecom and Comcast may be engaging in bandwidth shaping or packet prioritization. The audio degradation is compared to the behavior of BitTorrent traffic during peak usage.