You can master many complex issues by filling a table like this one with people who have competing interests, and watching them argue different sides of the issue. Unfortunately, this approach breaks down when the topic is highly technical. For example, in the current debate on “network neutrality” in the Internet, I’ve seen advocates from all sides advance their agendas by giving misleading si...

| Winter 2011-2012 S ince “network neutrality” first appeared in policy debates, its meaning has been less than crystal clear. Some advocates have argued that net neutrality demands that broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all bits equally: “a bit is a bit is a bit,” while others make exceptions for malware bits, spam bits, child pornography bits, etc. Some advocates have argued t...

This paper is concerned with heterogeneity and the notion of boundaries within systems design. It uses case study material to identify sources of heterogeneity and to understand how these are oriented to within the practicalities of design work. A key concept for analysing work practices is the notion of place. The paper analyses the qualities of the places in which design work takes place (reg...

A. STYLIZED MODEL........................................................................................................................................... 3 B. NETWORK PROVIDER IS MONOPOLIST IN THE MARKET FOR INTERNET SERVICES .......................................... 5 1. No General Incentive to Discriminate ......................................................................................

Hahn and Wallsten (Econ. Voice 3(6):1–7, 2006) wrote that network neutrality “usually means that broadband service providers charge consumers only once for Internet access, do not favor one content provider over another, and do not charge content providers for sending information over broadband lines to end users.” In this paper we study the implications of non-neutral behaviors under a simple ...

Two clichés sum up the telecommunications policy world for the past half dozen years. First, the only constant is change. Second, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The main topics of debate have turned, in just three years, from unbundled network elements and “open access” to video franchising reform and “net neutrality.” But the deep structure of the debate remains eerily fa...