Proposing Organization:

Open Technology Initiative (OTI) of the New America Foundation

Primary Investigators:

Andrew M. Odlyzko, University of Minnesota; Sascha Meinrath and Victor Pickard, NAF; and Michael Weisman, Media Access Project

Bounty collected: $7,500

In recent years Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have demonstrated a willingness to interfere with content and, increasingly, with how information and data flow on their networks. The FCC’s recent finding (2008) that Comcast was blocking users from uploading and downloading files using BitTorrent only further confirmed this all too standard industry practice. Even after the FCC admonishment of Comcast actions, both cable and telecom providers continue to push for increasing control over their networks, for reasons ranging from ‘fighting piracy’ to dealing with ‘network congestion’. However, the tools and solutions they propose as solutions undermine the very foundations and principles that facilitated the development of this vital communications resource. Within this context, the future of the Internet as an open, participatory medium rests upon how we answer the fundamental question: Who will make prioritization decisions -- end users or network operators?

In network neutrality debates, there continues to be an over-reliance on industry-funded papers and reports framing this issue in terms of a battle between large telecommunications companies on one side, and Internet content companies and public interest groups on the other. The meteoric rise of network neutrality’s prominence has led to current events far outpacing theoretical and historical analyses. This partnership between the Open Technology Initiative of the New America Foundation and a team of researchers addresses this lag in scholarship. The proposed research will contextualize recent events in relation to historical telecommunications antecedents and addresses issues of congestion, bandwidth scarcity, and the impact of network management and prioritization.

The project will result in two in-depth analyses that critically evaluate the current network neutrality debate, clearly lay out the challenges to 'Internet freedom', and provide concrete technical and policy guidelines for how ISP can achieve the same throughput efficiencies they claim to need without disempowering their customers. Together, these two papers serve as much-needed non-partisan resources for policymakers and the public. They provide a proactive foundation for supporting the goal of creating a more open and participatory Internet.