Congested IP routers discard packets they cannot process rather than reroute them. The change to alternative protocols may be an expensive endeavor. Improvement of the World Wide Web and the Internet's response time is vital to support electronic commerce. The Internet must deliver large capacities of information and exhibit quick response times to realize this great expectation. Increasing bandwidth will solve the capacity problems and generally reduce the latency period for many Internet activities.
Cost is the main hindrance in implementing many bandwidth enhancing technologies.
Until competition forces Wide Area Network price reductions, bandwidth limitations will continue on the Internet. Currently, most Internet access is charged on a fixed-rate pricing plan. This will provide additional revenues for the ISPs Internet infrastructure upgrades. Better packet routing technology and more efficient transport protocols will ensure information is delivered quickly and effectively. Deployment of the RSVP protocol for the Internet is at least three years away.