BitTorrent Throttling Company Sandvine Sees Sales Down 88%
Written by enigmax on March 07, 2008Sandvine, manufacturers of BitTorrent throttling technology has seen its first quarter sales drop 88% in a year. After achieving 42,000% growth in 5 years, the company - best known for providing the technology which put Comcast into the spotlight recently - has seen its value plummet 42% in a single day.
When Comcast introduced the Sandvine traffic shaping solution, it hoped it could quietly interfere with its customer’s BitTorrent activities without getting too much attention. Unfortunately for them, their actions didn’t go unnoticed, and during August last year we broke the news that this ISP does indeed mess with it’s customers internet connections.
Since then, things have gone from bad to worse for Comcast, as their customers started to realize that this ISP wasn’t giving them what they paid for. As a result, Comcast are now being sued and annoyed users formed a coalition to challenge the company to try to claim compensation. All of this is on top of a FCC hearing which deemed that Comcast uses ‘hacker-techniques’ to interrupt BitTorrent traffic, techniques which are employed via the traffic management ’solution’ from Sandvine. Essentially, the Sandvine system allows Comcast to inject forged reset packets into BitTorrent transfers which makes seeding impossible - good news for ISPs who don’t want to give their customers the bandwidth they paid for, but bad news for BitTorrent, and even worse news for supporters of Internet neutrality.
However, it is the very fact that Sandvine allows ISPs like Comcast to disrupt their customer’s activities which prompted the recent Federal Communications Commission hearings. The FCC warned Comcast that it will not allow it to disrupt internet traffic, which is of course a major concern for other ISPs considering investing in the Sandvine system. According to a G&M report, it is this hesitancy over net neutrality issues, coupled with problems major telecoms companies are experiencing when trying to refinance their debts, that have hit Sandvine hard. A survey by financial services outfit Canaccord Adams suggest that the top 40 global communications companies are all currently extremely wary over capital expenditure.
After achieving astronomical growth of 42,000% in just 5 years, Sandvine is really feeling the pressure as on the Toronto Stock Exchange its stock fell a massive 42%, to a low of $1.55. The company already predicted lower performance and revised its revenue estimates back in December 2007. Unfortunately these predictions were still too optimistic as the company has announced that the actual revenue this year is likely to be a further 20% lower than the revised figures. Sales for the first quarter will be $8.2m, an 88% drop on the previous year while full year revenue is expected to be around $80m, down from the December 2007 prediction of $110m.
All this adds up to an annual growth of 15%, versus last year’s growth of 132%.
At best, that means annual growth of just 15 per cent, compared with 132 per cent a year earlier.
Dave Caputo, Sandvine’s President and Chief Executive Officer said in a statement: “We believe that the delays have come about for a variety of reasons, ranging from unique customer-specific circumstances to economic conditions, making operators pause before executing on their approved budgets. We can’t dictate when customers make their decisions, just influence whether they choose Sandvine - and we remain as confident as ever in our ability to do that.”
With BitTorrent developers hard at work creating Sandvine-busting code, time will tell if Mr Caputo’s confidence continues into 2009.
Previously: Dutch University Uses BitTorrent to Update Workstations
Next: Lessig Questions Pirate Party’s Existence
59 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
Can’t wait for that “Sandvine busting code.”
Bittorrent Throttling Technology? Cisco has traffic shaping capabilities on some of their routers, FFS. It depends on how you configure the thing. That title is way exaggerated in my opinion. Sandvine provides solutions to implement network policies, like antispam filters, not just traffic shapers.
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.
Arr Starve em to death,The sharks wont even want em,raise the sails full ramming speed………………..
The more savvy torrent heads out there could all buy stock in the morning, the all pull out at a given time to cause a downward spiral of negative speculation. That’ll hurt then.
[quote comment="305740"]
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.[/quote]
And Sandvine is an innocent party in all of this? Give me a fucking break, you little tool.
If Sandvine didn’t offer Bittorrent throttling using forged RST packets in the first place, then large greedy companies couldn’t use that service to screw over their customers.
I detect the aroma of COCK in your breath.
As for Sandvine… That’s one more shrimp on the barbie. Have fun sizzling right next to MediaDefender and the rest of its sleazy ilk; That’s your fate for joining the war to end filesharing, a goal which is truly synonymous with the word “futile”.
If Sandvine only survives on traffic shaping like comcast uses, then fuck em, if they actually do anything good, they will survive.
Anything that stands in bittorrents way will be crushed.
shiver ma timbers
where i am in toronto ontario, bell sympatico throttles p2p activities calling me an excessive bandwith user the thing is though ive paid for 60gb a month at super high speed and ive never gone over that limit so how am i excessive?
multiple attempts to get a refund for unused bandwith that i couldn’t use because of bell’s interference has resulted in nothing as no one appears to know that bell uses network management techniques to block p2p activities. i hate bell but rogers is worse and we’re locked in a bell bundle…
another one bites the dust…
That will teach those pigs…
die sandfaggots.
hahaha I sold 218K shares of this dud back in November, I’m VERY happy to be out. I lost money on the investment (I bought higher last April) but not much and had I waited to sell my goose would have been cooked.
I’ve got two clients still in for about 165K shares as of last week, I’ve already been telling them it’s time to sell. Maybe they did and that’s what caused the drop… lots of guys are heading for the exits after the last report.
Hard to believe this stock ever made it off the venture exchange.
Serves them right, hope they go broke.
=quote=The FCC warned Comcast that it will not allow it to disrupt internet traffic, which is of course a major concern for other ISPs considering investing in the Sandvine system. According to a G&M report, it is this hesitancy over net neutrality issues, coupled with problems major telecoms companies are experiencing when trying to refinance their debts, that have hit Sandvine hard.=endquote=
The above phrases should not go unappreciated. When Comcast declared war on P2P — as many others had before — it had an unexpected result. If anyone successfully figured it out, at worst they expected the anger of a bunch of freeloaders (those trading in muzic, moviez and warez they shouldn’t share anyway). The FREE in freeloaders is the same as FREE found in FREE BEER — to use the apt analogy established by some in the Open Source community.
Instead, they drew a more powerful opponent force: those who support and defend freedom. In this case FREE referred to motherhood issues such as a FREE PRESS, FREE SPEECH, and a FREE PEOPLE with their own rights to an ever-growing sea of innovation, knowledge, and artistic expression.
The very inventors and pioneers of the Internet to staunch defenders of an independent press and open governments mounted a rigorous, uncoordinated, but simultaneous attack that blew the hidden Sandvine technology out of its forgery-protected husk and into the light of day for all to ponder. It’s discriminatory nature now available for all to see.
Back to Enigmax’s article, the Sandvine technology’s attraction is to save money. Telecoms (CATV MSOs in this case) can and will spend money — the question is, will they spend it on upgrades to meet consumer demand, or will they spend it on devices to secretly shape customer demand to their own will.
Since the Grass-roots forces of freedom dismantled the money-saving power of the Sandvine product, Telecoms find themselves having to rewrite their plans for 2008. Thus the Network Neutrality debate and Telecom buying factors mentioned above are inextricably linked together in a deadly Perfect Storm for Sandvine.
Robb Topolski
wow, 42000%… Wish I had invested in that.
Rogers Internet Sucks. Wouldnt be suprised if they use them aswell..
Spammer, no one knows or cares what that is.
Where this differs from the router approach is that it actually hacks the packets you are transmitting giving false information to the destination. It isn’t simply closing the bottleneck of your upstream bandwidth that is using the bit torrent protocol. So you CAN NOT com[pare this to traffic shaping policies of corporations. Like comparing apples to homosexuals - both are fruits but one leaves a much different taste in your mouth than the other.
Stuff ‘em. They serve no purpose to the internet community or the community in general.
It’s about time companies realise the power of the people. Don’t screw people over.
Sandvine sells a product that can be used to mitigate the effects of congestion on an overloaded network. If Sandvine and the other half-a-dozen companies that sell traffic management products go out of business, or their products are made illegal, network congestion will not magically go away. Maybe ISP’s will fix the congestion by expanding their networks; but do you really think they’ll do it for free?
Sandvine sounds particularly nasty, so I’m glad to hear they are going down, but while they suffer, a rival will benefit. Maybe we’ll end up with many ISPs that block all P2P connections, in which case the ones that allow them will gain new subscribers. It all depends on how profit is maximised by the ISPs. Many people not using P2P would probably pay higher subscription fees for guaranteed speed, but P2P fans might find themselves paying huge amounts for truly “unlimited” and unthrottled bandwidth. The ISPs will use whatever legal means necessary to keep their profits high and shareholders happy. If we want more freedom, we’ll have to pay for it. We don’t get motorways without paying for them, do we?
I’m not really that bothered, as my own ISP (which has been throttling my connection for a couple of months) has just told me they are closing my account. I’ll do my filesharing via snail mail from now on. The post office lets me send as many packets as I like… :)
Why the heck are you with Bell Canada? Switch to a decent ISP like MyCybernet or something.
There’s only two ISPs in Canada: the cable company (usually Rogers) and the phone company (usually Bell). Anybody else who is trying to sell you internet service is probably a reseller of one of those two services (the CRTC mandates that they resell their service to others). Don’t expect to get better service by switching.
FUCK U SANDVINE, you deserve to go banckrupt
Bye bye Comcast! Hope you all rot in hell. Same goes with Time Warner cable!
my sister she want to be pirate
i send you photos she swallow my parrot ;D
the executive officers of Sandvine will have made their fortunes in this obvious executive renumeration vehicle
corporations of this ilk should be strictly illegal. no lessons from Enron and Worldcom?
i am still coming here and i like the site. meanwhile, i distest those who advertise a site, sugarmommymeet.com. it is said it caters to rich women seeking handsome men and a lot of sugarbabies join in the site. i suggest you keep away from it.
[quote comment="305775"][quote comment="305740"]
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.[/quote]
And Sandvine is an innocent party in all of this? Give me a fucking break, you little tool.
If Sandvine didn’t offer Bittorrent throttling using forged RST packets in the first place, then large greedy companies couldn’t use that service to screw over their customers.
I detect the aroma of COCK in your breath.
As for Sandvine… That’s one more shrimp on the barbie. Have fun sizzling right next to MediaDefender and the rest of its sleazy ilk; That’s your fate for joining the war to end filesharing, a goal which is truly synonymous with the word “futile”.[/quote]
First off, I am against what Comcast did and the way they did it.
However, you are the tool. Sandvine makes a product that does a lot more than just what you are bitching about. In fact, your cable connection wouldn’t be usable without the network management techniques employed by cable operators.
Maybe you should get that tool out of your mouth and do some research.
Thats great news.
time to pack, Sandvine
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA Finally something is getting done to combat these shitty ISPS and supports of throttleing. I hope that every one of these anti bittorrent supporters go bust with not a penny left to buy a bag of crisps
[quote comment="306473"]
First off, I am against what Comcast did and the way they did it.
However, you are the tool. Sandvine makes a product that does a lot more than just what you are bitching about. In fact, your cable connection wouldn’t be usable without the network management techniques employed by cable operators.
Maybe you should get that tool out of your mouth and do some research.[/quote]
Maybe you should pull Sandvine’s cock out of your mouth and grow a fleck of integrity. Or is that even possible for you?
LOL, yeah… You aren’t a tool. Sure, you’re trying to abdicate Sandvine from guilt by laying all the blame on Comcast, while ignoring the fact that Sandvine ENABLES Comcast to fuck with torrents in the first place, but you aren’t a tool. No fucking sir.
…
That was sarcasm, incase you missed it. You are indeed a tool, a complete and utter one. Now then, why don’t you stop dicking around on the Internet and get back to shining Dave Caputo’s balls like a good little lackey?
Hello All.. Forgot to post my alternative to Bell… Acanac offers service over Southwestern Ontario… I cant use it though to far from the main switch thingy… Still waiting for Rogers to kick the throttling..
To #17.. Just use google…
This is not a throttle technology… The Sandvine technology is a POS. They spoof and thereby disconnect traffic… Networks should have throttling or QOS to provide the best possible service to all but within described SLA’s. You should get what you pay for. The idiots at Sandvine & Comcast are getting what they deserve… Hopefully Sandvine goes out of business quickly..
[quote comment="306045"]Rogers Internet Sucks. Wouldnt be suprised if they use them aswell..[/quote]
Rogers’ with Ellacoya, which is now acquired by Arbor.
[quote comment="305740"]Bittorrent Throttling Technology? Cisco has traffic shaping capabilities on some of their routers, FFS. It depends on how you configure the thing. That title is way exaggerated in my opinion. Sandvine provides solutions to implement network policies, like antispam filters, not just traffic shapers.
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.[/quote]
I totally agree with this.
[quote comment="306733"][quote comment="306473"]
First off, I am against what Comcast did and the way they did it.
However, you are the tool. Sandvine makes a product that does a lot more than just what you are bitching about. In fact, your cable connection wouldn’t be usable without the network management techniques employed by cable operators.
Maybe you should get that tool out of your mouth and do some research.[/quote]
Maybe you should pull Sandvine’s cock out of your mouth and grow a fleck of integrity. Or is that even possible for you?
LOL, yeah… You aren’t a tool. Sure, you’re trying to abdicate Sandvine from guilt by laying all the blame on Comcast, while ignoring the fact that Sandvine ENABLES Comcast to fuck with torrents in the first place, but you aren’t a tool. No fucking sir.
…
That was sarcasm, incase you missed it. You are indeed a tool, a complete and utter one. Now then, why don’t you stop dicking around on the Internet and get back to shining Dave Caputo’s balls like a good little lackey?[/quote]
Sandvine’s solutions are the most powerful ones in existence, and really, the Comcast incident was an accident. You need to get your facts before you go around being a dick. People who complain are the ones who abuse the ISP service the most. And Sandvine most definitely won’t go bankcrupt.
They (Sandvine) were not traffic shaping… they were spoofing… the Sandvine Box cannot traffic shape… it’s out of line… it’s a POS… And ellacoya is not in the rogers network… Cisco is..
Sandvine should go out of business unless it improves it’s technology.. and Comcast needs a really big fine… because they’re lazy monopolists..
lots of talk about dick by a couple of faggots arguing about sandvine…
WOrking for Crapcast I have to say, I am glad to see this.
Just hope I have to start uninstalling them.
Freedom of the internet for ever…!!!
Who the heck is Sandvine?
[quote comment="306859"]
Sandvine’s solutions are the most powerful ones in existence, and really, the Comcast incident was an accident. You need to get your facts before you go around being a dick. People who complain are the ones who abuse the ISP service the most. And Sandvine most definitely won’t go bankcrupt.[/quote]
The Comcast incident was an “accident”? Bitch, let’s get something clear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandvine#Controversy
Sandvine’s services to Comcast are configured BY DEFAULT(hence, configured by Sandvine itself) to wreak havoc with BitTorrent connections. In addition, the fact remains that without their little cohort, nobody using Comcast would be getting forged RST packets terminating their BT connections to begin with.
You, sir, are a major league cocksmoker, and Sandvine Inc. is on the receiving end.
Oh, and as for your LOL-worthy “people who complain are the ones who abuse the ISP service the most” comment, apparently you have never heard of anyone utilizing BitTorrent for legitimate content distribution. You know, like that one obscure, little known game studio… I think it’s called Blizzard Entertainment?
Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions and information on this issue..
Though I don’t understand the whole issue as it pertains to torrent traffic, traffic shaping, etc., I find it quite interesting reading.
Thanks for helping to point someone like myself in the direction to research this issue further with your links to articles and all. :)
As for the comment (#38) as to :
” Sandvine’s solutions are the most powerful ones in existence, and really, the Comcast incident was an accident. ”
I don’t understand what this means..??
How is what Comcast did using this Sandvine thing considered an “accident”…??
Did I miss something..??
Everything that I have read about this so far points to Comcast using this technology to deliberately block (or as they claim “delay” ) bittorrent traffic…
If the act is deliberate, then it can be in no way considered an “accident”.
Or am I missing something here..??
Thanks…
:)
[quote comment="306473"][quote comment="305775"][quote comment="305740"]
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.[/quote]
And Sandvine is an innocent party in all of this? Give me a fucking break, you little tool.
If Sandvine didn’t offer Bittorrent throttling using forged RST packets in the first place, then large greedy companies couldn’t use that service to screw over their customers.
I detect the aroma of COCK in your breath.
As for Sandvine… That’s one more shrimp on the barbie. Have fun sizzling right next to MediaDefender and the rest of its sleazy ilk; That’s your fate for joining the war to end filesharing, a goal which is truly synonymous with the word “futile”.[/quote]
First off, I am against what Comcast did and the way they did it.
However, you are the tool. Sandvine makes a product that does a lot more than just what you are bitching about. In fact, your cable connection wouldn’t be usable without the network management techniques employed by cable operators.
Maybe you should get that tool out of your mouth and do some research.[/quote]
And maybe you should get your head out of your ass. The issue isn’t a private company using traffic shaping management on their own company computer network. The issue is scumbags at Sandvine deliberately pitching their product to ISP’s for the sole purpose of denying to paying customers the bandwidth level that was promised, contracted, and paid for. A private company traffic shaping their own computer system is one thing. What Comcast and Sandvine are up to is not only wrong but technically illegal and now they’re both going to pay the price.
Next time perhaps it should be YOU doing some research before commenting. Now back on your knees. There’s still plenty of industry sausage for you to service.
Ok so does it matter that the great majority of content being transported by BitTorrent is illegal?
No… I guess not… Gilligan… fetch me another drink and don’t forget the umbrella!
Ryan,
Do you use your thumbs when you type?? Because I’m thinking not… you don’t have any…
Between the vulgar laced diatribe you occasionally have some morsal of truth in your statements… even a blind squirrel can find a nut now and then.
But who is evil and who is the victim. If you want the bandwidth to shove your content upstream then pay for it. The systems you make fun of actually are designed to make sure that when you are ready to upload or download your daily requirement of beastyology and kiddy porn - its there ready for you to use.
The ones who bitch the loudest - like you - deserve it the least. Without these systems other users… oh say a doctor trying to read an X-ray downloaded from the local hospital, or a business person trying to conduct VALID business on the web their internet connection works… period.
You want to upload your ass off - then pay for it you 2-bit looser…
I very sincerely hope that not only Sandvine will perish but that everyone involved will die a slow agonizing death. It’s just what fits them best.
[quote comment="306859"]the ones who abuse the ISP service the most…[/quote]
…are actually paying their hard earned for the service. Why exactly shouldn’t we get what we pay for? High management of Comcast and the likes of them should look in dictionary for the word “honesty”. Because they have no clue about it.
[quote comment="306859"]And Sandvine most definitely won’t go bankcrupt.[/quote]
And also pigs will fly? Yeah, sure.
/sarcasm off
ProdigyDancer,
I won’t even ask what the nickname is for… so do you know Ryan… you two seem to have much in common.
If you don’t like Comcast so much then leave. Fact is less then 5% of all users account for over HALF the bandwidth consumed at any one time. That doesn’t seem very fair to me.
The guy that invented this stupid protocol even said in a recent interview he designed BitTorrent to be unusually sloppy with its use of bandwidth. He thought it was funny… you know screw the ISPs.
So finally an ISP has the balls to enforce the agreement YOU signed when you signed up for the service and all you can do is bitch like a little school girl and wish people into bankruptcy.
What is even funnier are you loosers whinning about net neutrality… what… you going to pull that freedom of speach crap again?
PULLLEEEEZZZ!!!
Here’s the deal Nancy… quit Comcast and get another service and sshut the fuck up…
Now fetch me a drink before I have Gilligan come over there and kick your ass…
[quote comment="307957"]ProdigyDancer,
If you don’t like Comcast so much then leave.
freedom of speach crap[/quote]
Neither do I use Comcast (heck, I don’t live in America at all) nor do I have anything to discuss with people who advocate those fraudsters and say that freedom of speech is crap.
So please, just go and lick your masters’ asses. Maybe they’ll throw a bone to you for being a good doggie.
[quote comment="305775"][quote comment="305740"]
Traffic shaping isn’t bad, corporations had it for ages. It’s when a large greedy company uses it to NOT give customers what they paid for.[/quote]
And Sandvine is an innocent party in all of this? Give me a fucking break, you little tool.
If Sandvine didn’t offer Bittorrent throttling using forged RST packets in the first place, then large greedy companies couldn’t use that service to screw over their customers.
I detect the aroma of COCK in your breath.
As for Sandvine… That’s one more shrimp on the barbie. Have fun sizzling right next to MediaDefender and the rest of its sleazy ilk; That’s your fate for joining the war to end filesharing, a goal which is truly synonymous with the word “futile”.[/quote]
Is Flaming Necessary? Can’t You Express Yourself W/Out Flaming???
After 1 F Word For Every 3 You Type I Don’t Even Feel Like Reading To See If You Really Have A Point Or Not.
Don’t Be So White Trash ‘N’ Gather A Decent Vocabulary. U Know?
Besides The Guy Made Sense. Just Cuz He Didn’t Say It Your Way Didn’t Make Him Wrong U’re A Tool…Nice Flaming.
[quote comment="306338"]Bye bye Comcast! Hope you all rot in hell. Same goes with Time Warner cable![/quote]
I Agree…Time Warner Is Going To Get Hurt For Playing W/ Fire.
I’m So Anxious Waiting For ‘Em To Do The Move [I've Already Returned 1 Box W/Remote 'N' Downgraded To Basic Garbage Plan.] Once They Make Their Move, I’ll Cancel My Services…Cable ‘N’ Internet. Switch To Satellite Internet.
But I’ll Leave ‘Em Something To Remember Me…
They Have Injected Me With Poison To My Traffic…I’ve Injected ‘Em With More Than “400 GB” Of Data Transfers [Uploads/Seeding] Alone.
If Understand The Benefits Of Digitalized Media. IPTV VOIP ‘N’ IT Radio Among Others…Dump Time Warner Verizon, Etc…They ‘R’ The Next Snake To Come Out The Grass.
I’ll Be By The Watter By Then…
serves them right…lolll
I cant wait untill all this stupid shit stops… i mean come on do they really thing they can stop pirating the only way they can do that is by breaking rules or by making up some rediculous contract of some sort that will go against rules and force this shit on people. Right now im waiting for Verizon Fios to come in my neighbor hood and so far ive only seen and heard the best from it. Fuck comcast but fucking verizon dsl even more :( comcast still blows it away trust me.
If you want to buy liability/problems this is a good investment…
Or you could upgrade your network…
[quote comment="306281"]Why the heck are you with Bell Canada? Switch to a decent ISP like MyCybernet or something.[/quote]
fyi… mycybernet sucks. while i’m sure its better than bell, there service is horrible and they don’t/can’t fix problems when you do have them and you’re pretty much on your own. i’d suggest someone a little more reputable who can actually solve your problems instead of just saying “it’s not our fault”
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