An interview with Research Penn State, April 2008.

Probing Question:

What is Net Neutrality?

"Internet Freedom, under attack. What do we do? Stand up, talk back," shouted a group calling themselves the Raging Grannies, outside the Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University. Inside, the  Federal Communications Commission prepared to hold a public hearing on broadband network management practices—a a topic most people might not expect to draw protesters.

At the heart of the Grannies' complaint is the issue of “net neutrality.” Google and Microsoft, among others, favor it; telecommunications firms such as Comcast and Verizon tend to oppose it. Damian Kulash, Jr., lead singer of Internet-phenom rock band OK Go, even penned a New York Times op-ed championing the cause. But what, exactly, is “net neutrality”?

“The question you asked, while it sounds really simple, has perplexed people for a couple of years,” says Jeff Kuhns, associate vice provost for information technology at Penn State. Kuhns explains that when customers purchase internet or cellular phone service, they pay for access to that network—think of Verizon Wireless's “It's the network” slogan. For the proponents of net neutrality, once customers have paid for network access, they should be able to use the network however they see fit (within the law).  “Net neutrality is about non-discrimination,” says Kuhns. “It really is about allowing people to connect to any legal site they want using any legal equipment they want, and not being hampered by their network provider.”

How might a network provider such as Comcast or Verizon hinder access? “In its worst form,” Kuhn explains, “it could involve you being denied access to a particular site. It could have you redirected to some other site. Or it could simply involve providing a lesser degree of connection for some sites than you would otherwise expect to have.” Kuhns offers a recent example involving cable giant Comcast. An investigation by the Associated Press revealed that Comcast had intentionally slowed network access for users of BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer protocol often used for distributing large audio and video files.

That example caught the public's attention, Kuhns says. “When this really started to become an issue a couple of years ago,” he notes, “most of the regulators didn't want to talk about it because they said there were no examples of companies violating net neutrality principles.” Since then, however, network providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon have repeatedly used their control of telecommunications channels by preventing public access to specific material online, he adds. Examples include censoring political speech from an online Pearl Jam concert, refusing text-messaging access to pro-choice group NARAL, and blocking network access to competitors.

Comcast and other providers claim that they need to manage limited network resources in order to maintain quality of service for all users. Kuhns, though, sees better ways to preserve the quality of online experience. Rather than restrict particular uses of the network for everyone, Kuhns explains, Penn State regulates speeds for heavy users. With this per–user philosophy of network management, Kuhns explains, “It doesn't matter what you're doing on the network: if you exceed certain limits, then your network access is throttled back.” The network remains neutral, valuing equally all the data traveling across it, but certain users receive only limited access.

Congress and regulators have once again taken up the issue. A telecommunications bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives included no guarantee of net neutrality, but supporters hope that a similar bill in the Senate will provide one.

For Kuhns, who’s testified before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, only regulation can guarantee net neutrality. Because of a lack of broadband competition in America, he says, companies have little monetary incentive to maintain neutrality. (He’s also a member of Educause, a non-profit association focusing on the role of information technology in higher education.)Yet as more and more of our lives move online, Kuhns explains, net neutrality will become a more pressing concern. Without a guarantee that providers will preserve neutral networks, Kuhns says, “I think what many people worry about, though the tide may be turning here, is that we'd see a particular application or a particular legal use of a network denied under the banner of ‘network management’ when really it's a form of network censorship.”

Donna Edwards is the Democratic candidate in MD's 4th congressional district. She described her home in the Ft Washington neighborhood as one which has the highest per capital income for African Americans in the country. The best connection she can get is dial-up which often prevents her from effective communications. Although her neighborhood is one which is listed as having broadband, it exists in a very small area around a Verizon central office, and she lives outside that area.

She also said that while going door to door during her primary campaign, only one person asked her about net neutrality but several residents asked about getting better connections for their children's schools.

We take for granted the importance of infrastructure in water, sewer and roads. We need to realize that the new mode of travel and daily needs are tied to spectrum, bits and light.

Put another way though he is really talking about the conveniences of infrastructure, in this case the distribution system built around petroleum refining. Like most of our infrastructure systems this one is easily available to everyone, and through this access and ease of use, our nation has benefited.

Why is it then that what is arguably becoming our most critical infrastructure for economic development and sustaining our innovation leadership, broadband communications infrastructure, is left to chance, or rather the chances of the marketplace?

The petroleum industry has been aided by governmental investment in highways. Federal, state and local investments in water systems, sewage systems, and air travel have benefited all. Shouldn't a similar approach be used for deploying and aiding subscription to broadband infrastructure?

Educause, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, has released a proposal for a national policy on broadband communications infrastructure. Calling for combined federal, state and private investments, it suggest that for $100 Billion, fiber infrastructure could be installed to all homes. The federal investment to do this will require $8 B for each of four years.

This is a considerable sum but the benefits are enormous. The investment is for a limited amount of time yet the benefits will accrue for decades.

The proposal entitled, "A Blueprint for Big Broadband", can be found at
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EPO0801.pdf .

And we're joining a growing list of others. This morning I heard that China is forbidding stores from using plastic bags for carrying purchased items and encouraging shoppers to use more permanent cloth bags which they bring with them.

In the IT area, HP just announced a goal of reducing the energy consumed with its new products by 25% over the next 2 years, and that by 2010 it will reduce its global energy consumption by 20%. Dell says its current line of PCs consume about $23 per year in energy vs $100 by its older products.

The EU has produced this report talking about how IT can aid in reducing carbon emissions,
http://www.etno.be/Portals/34/ETNO%20Documents/Sustainability/Climate%20Change%20Road%20Map.pdf

I've even seen a call to start measuring network capacity in bits per carbon rather than bits per second.

So, what can ITS do to aid this total effort? Seems to me there are at least 3 things we could do:
- make sure that all electronic equipment purchased is as efficient as possible, even if that means it isn't the lowest initial cost equipment; what's the total cost of ownership?
- look for ways to centralize services within ITS, eliminating equipment providing a duplicate or competitive service.
- make carbon emissions reduction a personal goal and effort.

What can you do through existing tools like audio and video conferencing (think Adobe Connect) to reduce driving across campus to a meeting. What can we do with these tools to reduce commuting to the office? What can you do to live a healthier lifestyle by walking more and driving less; did you know that OHR sells low cost pedometers?

Why not set goals for yourself? Reduce the amount of auto transportation you use by say 5% over the next year. Reduce the number of meetings you attend in person by 10% over the next year, and assess what effect this has on total productivity.

What ideas do you have on ways we can be better global citizens. I'd love to hear them.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review provides a thorough review of this in "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time", by Tony Schwartz (HBR, Oct. 2007). There are four areas of focus:
Physical Energy.
Eat right, exercise reqularly, develop routines that allow for adequate rest. Get away from your desk at reqular intervals and move around the building or campus.
Emotional Energy.
Learn to deal with stress; deep breathing exercises are one way. Eliminate negative reactions and thoughts. A meeting that you know will be difficult can be viewed positively by seeing it as an opportunity to be persuasive or to gain a new perspective. How do portray the events of your day, positively or negatively? If mostly negative, how can you change this, without altering the facts, to make it more positive?
Mental Energy - Focus.
One way to improve concentration is to reduce the amount of mutli-tasking, instead focusing on one task at a time. Set aside specific time for specific actions, even routine ones like reading and responding to email/voice mail.
Spirtual Energy.
What are your core values? How do you adhere to them in your work and personal life? If you're working toward the things most important to you then it's more likely you'll find rewards in what you are doing that reinforce your positive habits and make it easier to drop the negative ones.