Fast Soft, Inc., a corporation founded in 2006, markets the technology known as FastTCP. Transmission Control Protocol, known as TCP, is the protocol which governs more than 90% of internet traffic. TCP can dramatically slow down the speed at which data is transmitted during high volume periods. FastSoft, Inc. attempts to reconcile this reduction in transmitting capability. They do this through FastTCP, a high performance content delivery system created through research by Professor Dr. Steven Low who, with his Caltech research team, invented the technology in 2005 and founded the corporation in 2006. This technology is not only unique in the speed of data transmission that it provides, but also in that it has a “one-to-many” acceleration capability, meaning that the product requires no hardware or software on the receiving end. “FastSoft’s one-to-many acceleration products improve transfer times up to 30x, helping companies that rely on the Internet to transfer large files to remote places” (FastSoft.com). FastSoft’s creators found that they could retain a high throughput of data by removing the conditions introduced when standard TCP reacts to packet loss. This is possible because FastTCP allows for a constant number of data packets in queues throughout the network, resulting in smoother data flow. This is done through the installation of a hardware system at the data-output end and is not needed by the receiving end. The market in which FastSoft’s technology operates, the wide area network (WAN), reported a market size of $202 million in 2007 according to Gartner’s.
This new technology has created “a stir in the world of networking,” according to one blog site, because it allows for increased data transmission (Vizard 2007). FastSoft’s E-Series product is desirable to its consumer market due to its ability to increase productivity, enhance collaboration between partners in different areas, and utilize existing infrastructure. All of this is important in connecting a business to its partners or clients outside of the office. For example, FastSoft found that the E-Series was able to transfer a DVD file in nine minutes, down from two hours without FastSoft (FastSoft.com). The potential social and technological impacts stem from the speed at which business can now be done. This could be revolutionary in the business sector as well as other sectors where speed in communication is of the utmost importance.