Like P2P, the P4P protocol breaks files up into smaller packets, sends those around the Internet and then reassembles them at a destination, but P4P tracks the most efficient point in the networks from which to swap those files. This involves the ISPs handing over information about their network topology and knowing where a file swapper sits on the network. P4P makes it possible to know these things without exposing the data to either side. In tests with Verizon, Pando showed that by using P4P it could increase delivery speeds by up to 235 percent on U.S. cable networks and reduce intra-network traffic by 34 percent.

Il paper del progetto è liberamente scaricabile qui.
Secondo GigaOM comunque, queste soluzioni non costituirebbero un’alternativa alla messa a disposizione di maggiore banda da parte degli ISP.