Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding these links to the Net Neutrality Page.

Skype and WildBlue – A Case for Citizen (Network) Journalists

The sudden failure of Skype over WildBlue on May 15 and the recent sudden recovery may be a good case for citizen journalists. It MIGHT have implications for the Net Neutrality debate.

Users on the WildBlue Uncensored! Forum report that, starting two weeks ago, they regained the ability to connect to Skype and complete calls. Some of them also report usable call quality. As I posted previously, users say they had generally acceptable VoIP and Skype performance over WildBlue prior to May 15. I wasn’t using WB then so have no firsthand knowledge.

Why did Skype suddenly stop working over WB? Why did it suddenly start again? Did WB block or deprioritize Skype or VoIP packets? Or did a Skype update loose the ability to deal with the extreme latency (delay) expected when a satellite is used? . . .

Feltecomplexities of Network Neutrality n’s paper on the

Ed Felten — the Princeton engineering prof who led the effort to crack the Secure Digital Music Initiative and did yeoman work on the Sony BMG DRM fiasco — has published a fast, ten-page white-paper on the complexities of Network Neutrality. Ed describes the many ways in which Neutrality is hard to enforce, and the ways in which tiered, discriminatory service is likely to have grave outcomes: . . .

. . . Network management is complicated, and many management decisions could impact jitter one way or the other. A network provider who wants to cause high jitter can do so, and might have pretextual excuses for all of the steps it takes. Can regulators distinguish this kind of stratagem from the case of fair and justified engineering decisions that happen to cause a little temporary jitter?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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