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Stanford Engineers Propose A Technology To Break The Net Neutrality Deadlock (phys.org)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Stanford engineers have invented a technology that would allow an internet user to tell network providers and online publishers when and if they want content or services to be given preferential delivery, an advance that could transform the network neutrality debate. Net neutrality, as it's often called, is the proposition that internet providers should allow equal access to all content rather than give certain applications favored status or block others. But the Stanford engineers -- Professor Nick McKeown, Associate Professor Sachin Katti and electrical engineering PhD Yiannis Yiakoumis -- say their new technology, called Network Cookies, makes it possible to have preferential delivery and an open internet. Network Cookies allow users to choose which home or mobile traffic should get favored delivery, while putting network operators and content providers on a level playing field in catering to such user-signaled preferences. "So far, net neutrality has been promoted as the best possible defense for users," Katti said. "But treating all traffic the same isn't necessarily the best way to protect users. It often restricts their options and this is why so-called exceptions from neutrality often come up. We think the best way to ensure that ISPs and content providers don't make decisions that conflict with the interests of users is to let users decide how to configure their own traffic." McKeown said Network Cookies implement user-directed preferences in ways that are consistent with the principles of net neutrality. "First, they're simple to use and powerful," McKeown said. "They enable you to fast-lane or zero-rate traffic from any application or website you want, not just the few, very popular applications. This is particularly important for smaller content providers -- and their users -- who can't afford to establish relationships with ISPs. Second, they're practical to deploy. They don't overwhelm the user or bog down user devices and network operators and they function with a variety of protocols. Finally, they can be a very practical tool for regulators, as they can help them design simple and clear policies and then audit how well different parties adhere to them." The researchers presented a technical paper on their approach at a conference in Brazil.
Way back when, the definition of net neutrality was not "the proposition that internet providers should allow equal access to all content rather than give certain applications favored status or block others."
When I first heard the term in the 1990s, net neutrality meant that the main trunks all processed data the same for every provider and end user. They could certainly make the decision to route some data packets before others, such as video before text. The problem is that the ISPs are now also providers, and have decided that their video is more important than another provider's video. So Comcast is fucking with Netflix, claiming Netflix pushes out too much data. But if I am Comcast's customer, I don't want them disrupting my video feed just because they want more money than they already gouge from their customers.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
We have this already. It is called QoS, and it is basically ignored on public networks, because it is easily abused by users (malicious or naive) setting everything to top priority. I don't see how this proposal avoids this problem.
That isn't what net neutrality is about. You can already implement something like this.
Net neutrality is not destination-focused but source-focused. How fast does traffic from server X arrive at whatever destination? Or how fast does traffic of the X kind arrive? It's not about you vs your neighbor, it's about Youtube vs. Tubgirl (don't google it, people, just don't!). It's not whether your YouTube traffic gets priority over your torrent traffic, it's about whether YouTube traffic in general gets preference over torrent traffic.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.