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DOI: 10.1007/s10272-008-0242-2
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Jrn Kruse*
Network Neutrality and Quality of Service
One of the most important factors for the tremendous worldwide success of the internet is that all
the different services are transformed into homogeneous data packets for the transport over the IP networks. They are handled by universal protocols (TCP, IP) and sent (by routers as switching devices) over universal network infrastructures.
It used to be the common procedure that all data packets, whatever service or content they might belong to, would be treated as equal at the different routers on their way to their destination. Thus, if complications such as trafc congestion occur each data packet has the same likelihood of going through, being withheld, or even dismissed. This is called the network neutrality principle.
Some people in the internet community, especially in the USA, regard network neutrality as a basic element of a democratic internet with equal access for everybody. Legislation has been proposed that would make any deviation from network neutrality by internet service providers (ISPs) or other network operators unlawful. This started a controversial debate,1 with political, economic and almost ideological arguments, and signicantly supported by the economic interests of users, network operators and service and content providers respectively.
The network neutrality regulation problem contains basically two different and separable issues: (1) discrimination and (2) quality of service.
(1) The proponents of network neutrality regulation argue that network operators and ISPs might use their control over routers and transmission networks to slow down or block certain data packets in order to discriminate competing services. If, for example, telecommunication network operators blocked data packets of Voice-over-IP services that might substitute their own telephone services, this would not only discriminate against specic rms, but also reduce competition and economic welfare. Technically, this would not be a problem. Although data packets are homogeneous with respect to switching and transmission treatment, type, source, and destination can be
* Helmut Schmidt University University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Germany.
revealed and data packets be handled differently if a network operator prefers to do so.
Under the conditions of competition between networks, as is common in European countries (in contrast to the USA)2 a network operator would not have an economic incentive to do...