That issue is a tempest in a tea pot, Mitch. It would be a simple matter to say that an operator can't interfere with lawful content, meaning that best-efforts service has to be equal for all who use it. Equally simple to say that if an operator uses QoS for their own services they are obliged to offer the same to others at the same commercial terms.
In any event, look at U-verse today and most IPTV. These are walled-garden services that have QoS and they aren't considered violations. So I argue our current rules actually work against neutrality because they pull carrier video off-net where it's not regulated.
Structural separation is the wrong answer too. All you do is further increase costs which means lower ROI. We have the right answer stairing us in the face. Let operators use and sell QoS based on end-to-end inter-carrier settlement. If it's a good idea it will work. If it isn't nobody will buy it.
Tom - The argument in favor of net neutrality is that it would prevent carriers from blocking services like YouTube in favor of carriers' own video services. Same for Facebook and other services people want access too. More importantly -- and more likely -- carriers would be able to block startups. We wouldn't get the next YouTube because it never would have been permitted to start.
Is that a valid concern? Is there a way around that?
One proposal I've seen is to separate the ISPs from the network. The companies that run the line along the street and into homes would be different companies than the ones providing Internet service. The Internet service providers would be customers of the networking companies; consumers and businesses would be customers of the ISPs. Everybody wins. Do you see that as a viable option?
The fact that network operators are not prepared to invest in infrastructure is a result of inadequate ROI. In Europe, it's gone so far as to drive carriers to invest outside their home countries/markets for better return. The fact that we have no QoS for broadband services is a direct result of lack of settlement for service quality; operators won't guarantee QoS if they receive none of the money. We hear all the time that we have second-rate Internet in this country; we have second-rate policies.
I've been opposed to some of the neutrality principles from the mid-90s, Mitch. I co-authored an RFC intended to organize settlement among ISPs for traffic and QoS and I continue to believe that the 'Net would be better off with that in place. We're seeing a bunch of business distortions resulting from the lack of settlement, and eventually they're going to bite us seriously IMHO.
"OTT video" is indeed not a moral or topical judgment, but rather video streamed over best-efforts Internet connections and not within a walled garden.
I get a sense that you're opposed to at least some of what's generally considered as "net neutrality." Is that a fair assessment?
Also, what's "over the top video"? That's a new one on me. I'm thinking that's a technology description, and not referring to "Girls Gone Wild" or Tarantino movies (which are other types of over-the-top).
I wish I could always promising at least some hope, Susan, even though I pride myself on cynisism! There's so much network news that speaks to issues with profit in basic transport and streaming video is dependent on cost-effective transport. I think that rural operators and developing-country players are the ones most likely to be able to see a walled-garden-streaming model pay off. The question is whether it will be enough, and whether neutrality rules erode streaming by eroding revenue further. It's a complicated issue for sure!
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Recently, the Obama administration has been of two minds where privacy rights are concerned. On one hand, you have an administration that vowed to veto CISPA and mandated open data for government websites. On the other hand, you have an increasingly out-of-control Department of Justice on a fishing expedition at AP and demanding legislation to let the FBI wiretap private, encrypted communications and levy fines if a company fails to comply.
The apartment and house sharing service, Airbnb, now requires members to verify their identities by demonstrating a presence on the web, and by either scanning a government ID or entering detailed personal details. Other enterprises should take a close look at Airbnb's verification policies.
Facebook advertising is a lightning rod. It seems neither brands nor consumers are 100 percent happy about the social media site's policies, placement, or procedures. But the real controversy about Facebook ads and promotions is over whether they work.
By now, you've most likely heard about the 3D-printed gun that Texas-based Defense Distributed demonstrated last week. But we haven't heard the last about the censorship war that began soon afterward.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
