Real Net Neutrality Problem: 'Edge Provider' vs 'End User'

An anonymous reader writes At the Washington Post, Brett Frischmann elaborates on the theory that the continuing flaw with the FCC's Net-Neutrality strategy lies in the perverse distinction between "End User" and "Edge Provider". Succinctly: "The key to an open Internet is nondiscrimination and in particular, a prohibition on discrimination or prioritization based on the identity of the user (sender/receiver) or use (application/content)," and then, "Who exactly are the end users that are not edge providers? In other words, who uses the Internet but does not provide any content, application, or service? The answer is no one. All end users provide content as they engage in communications with other end users, individually or collectively. ... Think of all the startups and small businesses run from people's homes on home Internet connections, using WordPress tools or Amazon hosting services. Are they 'end users' when they email their friends but 'edge providers' when they switch windows to check their business metrics?"

Comments

Re:Which way are the bits going?

[Anonymous Coward]

It sounds like they're intending to draw a distinction between nodes that principally receive data from those that principally transmit data.

If the node has a high ratio of bits received to bits transmitted, it's an "End User." If it has a high ratio of bits transmitted to bits received, it's an "edge provider."

ISPs are neither. They presumably have similar numbers of transmitted and received bits because they are mostly actiing as conduits between data sources and data sinks.

I provide a service where users upload files and my system identifies similarities to other files that have been previously uploaded. I have a received to transmitted ratio of around 50-1. By the logic you describe this makes me an end user rather than a service provider, which is utter bollocks.

um no

[Charliemopps]

Are they 'end users' when they email their friends but 'edge providers' when they switch windows to check their business metrics?

and that right there sums up why people who don't know how networking works, shouldn't write news articles about it.

  In both cases in this example the user is consuming data. A better example would be once the user is hosting data locally, like a webpage... And then, in fact, they'd be required by nearly every ISP in the county to have a business account.

The author acts like he's come up with some novel argument that questions the basic foundations of the ISPs business model, but in fact, it's a question that was asked and answered over 20yrs ago. You want to host a website from your house? Get a T1.