NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Project seeks to develop "a la carte" Internet connection services
Project seeks to develop "a la carte" Internet connection services
http://j.mp/oDke61 (UMass)
"What if you could choose an ISP in your area with a button on your
desktop and you could pay for only the time you used each one?" says
Naguney. "To watch a movie with the fastest service for high-quality
streaming, you buy it for two hours and move on. For checking your
e-mail later, you take the lower-priced product that offers higher
security, a secure server with the latest anti-virus software. That's
the sort of choice and flexibility we're talking about.""
- - -
There are a number of issues here. Some obvious ones:
1) How would this technology fare against the existing protocols
that are deeply embedded in a vast range of current applications?
2) Would the benefits of this type of system to the average consumer
(in terms of performance/price or whatever) justify the new
technical (and likely billing) complexities?
3) Would ISPs (who more and more want to bundle services, not
break them apart) see significant benefits to supporting such
a system, especially in the U.S.?
4) Would regulators be willing to encourage or require such a system,
given their inability to date getting much more modest proposals
enacted vs. lawsuits, Congressional actions to block Internet
regulations, and so forth?
My initial impression is that such a plan would have a much better
chance of being at least seriously considered in various locales
outside the U.S., but whether or not it would necessarily make good
sense even outside the U.S.' toxic political environment is not
necessarily clear.
--Lauren--
NNSquad Moderator