[ NNSquad ] FW: Ambient Connectivity - Realizing the promise of the Internet

I should’ve cc’ed NN on this .. it reframes the discussion and takes it out of the realm of arguing about network management to a positive agenda of how to make the capabilities available.

From: Bob Frankston [mailto:Bob19-0501@bobf.frankston.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 21:14
To: 'dave@farber.net'; 'dewayne@warpspeed.com'
Cc: 'oia@lists.bway.net'
Subject: Ambient Connectivity - Realizing the promise of the Internet

Ambient Connectivity is a very simple way to think about the potential for a post-telecom infrastructure. At best network neutrality within the confines of telecom just makes what we already have incrementally better. We already have a taste of ambient connectivity along existing paths once we’ve paid for a subscription.

As I explain in http://frankston.com/?Name=IntroAmbient (and the associated talk I gave at Stanford last week) if we are to expand on the lessons of the Internet we need to provide connectivity everywhere, not just by widening (or speeding up) the existing paths. While the origins of the Internet lies in its role as a network of networks the real value is in making it simple to focus on the problems we are trying to solve rather having to negotiate a new path for each services.

When the barriers are reduced to zero we get a fundamental change in how we think about what we now know as networking. It becomes something different and exciting. Once we get a taste of ambient connectivity it will be hard to remember the days of “networks”.

The Erie Canal and the Pony Express loom big in history but were only transitional phases as the railroad and telegraph made them obsolescent. We’re going to look back at the Internet in the same way – a prelude to something far more exciting.