This document discusses the lack of engagement between broadband policy literature and technical realities regarding the stochastic nature of network traffic management. It analyzes the mentions of relevant scientific terms in books on net neutrality policy and finds little exploration of concepts like stochasticity, emergence and probabilistic modeling. It argues that the focus on detecting and regulating "discriminatory" traffic has been misguided, and that policy should instead define quality of service floors and use objective measurement methods to evaluate user experience. The document promotes socializing technical knowledge with policymakers and shifting the regulatory perspective away from traffic management and towards ensuring a minimum quality of broadband service.

1. BEYOND ‘NEUTRALITY’
© 2016 Martin Geddes Consulting Ltd
All Rights Reserved
How to reconnect broadband
policy to technical reality?

2. MARTIN GEDDES
I am a computer scientist,
telecoms expert, and writer.
I collaborate with other
leading practitioners in the
communications industry.
Together we create game-
changing new ideas,
technologies and businesses.
www.martingeddes.com

3. 3

4. Did you
watch the
Super
Bowl? 4

5. Let’s play…
AMERICAN
FOOTBALL
WORD SEARCH
5

6. Does an article
mention these keywords?
Quarterback
Cheerleader
Touchdown
(Coin) toss
Referee
Huddle
Conversion
6

7. It is probably
about the game of
American football.
YES! NO!
It is probably
about something
other than the game.
or
6

8. 8
So is this
article about
the game of
American
football?

9. Quarterback
Cheerleader
Touchdown
Coin toss
Referee
Huddle
Conversion
9
YES!

10. 10
And is this
article about
the game of
American
football?

11. Quarterback
Cheerleader
Touchdown
Coin toss
Referee
Huddle
Conversion
11
NO!

12. About the Super Bowl
GAME
About the Super Bowl
AD BREAKS
Quarterback
Cheerleader
Touchdown
Coin toss
Referee
Huddle
Conversion
Quarterback
Cheerleader
Touchdown
Coin toss
Referee
Huddle
Conversion
12

13. 13
SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
We can do the same ‘keyword test’ in telecoms.

14. 14
SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
Here are some example words you might expect
to find in policy literature grounded in science:
 Radio waves
 Electromagentic
 Interference
 Propagation
 Reflections
 Frequency
 Permeability
 Cognitive

15. 15
So what about
BROADBAND?

16. Broadband is a
random game of chance
for network transmission resources
16

17. The scientific study of the
interaction of random processes
is called
STOCHASTICS
17

18. Has the policy literature
engaged with the
stochastic nature of
‘THE GAME’?
18

19. MEANINGFUL AND SCIENTIFIC TERMS
A. Stochastic
B. Emergent
C. Random(ness)
D. (Non)Deterministic
E. Semantics
F. Probabilistic
G. Statistical Multiplex(ing)
19

20. MEANINGLESS OR VAGUE TERMS
Neutral(ity)
Discrimination
Throttling
Priorit(isation)
Violation
QoS
Speed
20

21. We did a literature search
for books on net neutrality
and internet policy
21

22. 1. The Fallacy of Net Neutrality (Encounter Broadsides), Thomas W Hazlett
2. Internet Architecture and Innovation, Barbara van Schewick
3. The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, Tim Wu
4. Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared Resources, Brett M. Frischmann
5. Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, Susan Crawford
6. Net Neutrality for Broadband: Understanding the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order and Other Essays, Matthew Howard
7. The Illusion of Net Neutrality: Political Alarmism, Regulatory Creep and the Real Threat to Internet Freedom,
Bob Zelnick and Eva Zelnick
8. Regulating the Web: Network Neutrality and the Fate of the Open Internet, Zack Stiegler
9. The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, Evgeny Morozov
10. Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate, Angele A. Gilroy
11. Net Neutrality Compendium: Human Rights, Free Competition and the Future of the Internet,
Luca Belli and Primavera De Filippi
12. Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age, Dawn Nunziato
13. Net Neutrality and the FCC: Legal Issues and Matters of Debate, Denise Lambert
14. EU Competition Law, Regulation and the Internet. The Case of Net Neutrality, Katarina Maniadaki
15. Net Neutrality And Free Speech On The Internet, United States Congress House of Representatives
16. Net Neutrality: Towards a Co-Regulatory Solution, Christopher T. Marsden
17. Net Neutrality - Scholar's Choice Edition, United States Congress Senate Committee
18. The Book of Broken Promises: $400 Billion Broadband Scandal & Free the Net, Bruce A Kushnick
19. Bringing Us To Tiers: The 2014 Net Neutrality Lectures, Mitchell Szczepanczyk
20. Net neutrality 135 Success Secrets: 135 Most Asked Questions On Net neutrality - What You Need To Know, Billy Randolph
21. Net Neutrality or Net Neutering: Should Broadband Internet Services Be Regulated, Thomas M. Lenard and Randolph J. May
22. Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate, Congressional Research Service
23. The Open Internet, Net Neutrality and the FCC (Internet Theory, Technology and Applications),
Andrew C. Firth and Natalie H. Pierson
24. Technical, Commercial and Regulatory Challenges of QoS: An Internet Service Model Perspective, XiPeng Xiao
25. Net Neutrality. Developing Business Model and Evidence Based Net Neutrality Regulation, Anurag Rana
26. Net Neutrality and Free Speech on the Internet: Hearing Before The Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust Laws by
Congress United States, Congress United States
22

23. Some notes…
This book list was pulled from Amazon.com and is
not exhaustive or necessarily ‘balanced’.
However, there is a broad
mix of different policy viewpoints.
There is no meaning to the list order.
IMPORTANTLY: NO PRAISE OR CRITICISM
is implied of any individual book or its author(s),
as we don’t know their writing objectives.
23

24. 24

25. Did each book mention
any of the scientific terms?
25

26. Likely
relevant mention of term
Possible
relevant mention of term
No
relevant mention of term
Irrelevant
mention of the term (e.g. “random” in publisher “Random House”)
(No electronically searchable online copy found)

27. Caveats…
These are
just isolated mentions
of the relevant terms and…
…there may be
no exploration of their meaning
or consequence and…
…any technical arguments made
could still be wrong!
27

28. A B C D E F G
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Has the broadband policy literature engaged with
the technical reality of stochastic networks?

29. So do you think the ‘net neutrality’
policy literature reflects…
The stochastic
GAME OF CHANCE?...
…or the
POLITICAL AD BREAKS?
29

30. Regulatory problem:
An emerging ‘science gap’
between policymakers
and technical reality
30

31. SO WHAT?
There is an
INSURMOUNTABLE
STOCHASTIC BARRIER
to the regulation
of ‘discriminatory’
traffic management

32. FLUKE OR
FAULT?
32
You just
can’t tell
them apart…

33. 33
Oh, and by the way…
‘neutral’ traffic management
isn’t what matters
to users anyway!

34. So how to escape the stochastic
impossibility of regulating ‘neutrality’?
34

35. Understand the stochastic
‘LABYRINTH OF LUCK’
that joins local traffic management
to the global user experience
35

36. FOR EXAMPLE…
The stochastics experts at
Predictable Network Solutions Ltd
responded to an invitation to tender issued by
36

37. 37

38. “A Study of
Traffic Management
Detection
Methods & Tools”
(Sounds a bit dry and academic,
so what does it really say?)
38

39. Summary of the science
and mathematics inside:
Q: “Can regulators reliably detect
and remedy ‘discriminatory’
traffic management?”
A: “No, and that’s not the
important question to ask.”
39

40. Stochastic
Emergent
Random(ness)
(Non)deterministic
Semantics
Probabilistic
Statistical Multiplexing
40
+
(OK, so we’re not perfect)
Click to read the science for yourself!

41. Our proposed way forward
for policymakers and regulators
1. SOCIALISATION OF THE SCIENCE
Help align policy to the constraints of nature
2. INSTIGATE A QUALITY FLOOR
Define the broadband service properly
3. OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT
Select user-centric metrics, and use measurement
methods that locate QoE issues in the supply chain
41

42. SERVICES WE OFFER
Technical education
We can help you to understand the science, and how network
performance and user experience are actually related
Scientific policy advice
We can show you how to shift regulatory focus away
from infeasible ‘traffic management’ to feasible ‘quality floors’
High-fidelity measurement
Our ‘network tomography’ technology proves regulatory
(non)compliance to a level that can stand up in a court of law
42

43. FURTHER READING
The labyrinth of luck
The real reason why network ‘neutrality’ is impossible
‘Net neutrality’ died today. So what else, instead?
Why telecoms regulators must ignore ‘lawgeneers’
Why ΔQ is the ideal network metric
Why ’neutrality’ is too weak to protect broadband buyers
Three under-appreciated facts about broadband
The FCC’s ‘net neutrality’ rules are technically unworkable
How should regulators measure broadband quality?
Packets are not pizzas: Why ISPs are content, not carriage
Network Neutrality: Fantasy or folly?
How is network neutrality like pigeons playing chess?
The illusion of benevolent broadband teleology
How the broadband farmers and cowmen can be friends
How to X-ray a telecoms network
43

44. Martin Geddes
mail@martingeddes.com
Please do
get in touch
to learn more