[ NNSquad ] Network Neutrality, Non-Discrimination Rules and Quality of Service

Dear all,

I just published a white paper titled “Network Neutrality and Quality of Service: What a Non-Discrimination Should Look Like” that you may find interesting. The paper:

* Provides the first detailed analysis of the Federal Communications Commissions’ non-discrimination rule and of its implications for network providers’ ability to manage their networks and offer Quality of Service;

* Offers the first in-depth analysis of the relationship between network neutrality and Quality of Service; and

* Evaluates existing proposals for non-discrimination rules and proposes a non-discrimination rule that policy makers should adopt around the world – a rule that the FCC adopted at least in part.

A blog post summarizing the main results of the paper (with links to the paper and summaries in pdf and scribd) is available here: http://netarchitecture.org/2012/06/network-non-discrimination-and-quality-of-service-2/

The paper is relevant to a number of ongoing policy debates: In the US, market participants, observers and, soon, the Open Internet Advisory Committee, are trying to understand how the FCC’s Open Internet rules affect network providers’ ability to offer Quality of Service. The legal appeal of the FCC’s Open Internet Order focuses in part on the substantive merits of the rules. Whether the FCC wins or loses that appeal, the question of which, if any, network-discriminations require legal action will remain relevant for years to come in the U.S. In Europe, the Commission and the member states are still exploring which approach to network neutrality they should take. As part of these efforts, the group of European Regulators for Electronic Communication Networks and Services (BEREC) started a consultation in June focused on various aspects of the relationship between network neutrality and Quality of Service – the very topics explored in the white paper.

Best,

Barbara

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Barbara van Schewick

Associate Professor of Law and (by Courtesy) Electrical Engineering

Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar

Director, Center for Internet and Society

Stanford Law School

Author of "Internet Architecture and Innovation," MIT Press 2010

www.netarchitecture.org

Crown Quadrangle

559 Nathan Abbott Way

Stanford, CA94305-8610

Phone: 650-723 8340

E-Mail: schewick@stanford.edu