Network neutrality is in the news. However, there is no consensus on what it is, why it is important, or if it even matters. It is wrapped in emotional terms, like freedom of speech, innovation, and abuse of market power. Whatever one may think of network neutrality, there are very real, objective issues that Internet service providers need to deal with. Service providers need to protect their networks from attack, protect their customers from malicious or inadvertent attack, and provide some level of service assurance to their customers. On the other hand, there is a clear risk of ISPs choosing winners and losers and, even worse, throttling competition.
At this roundtable, we reviewed Network Traffic Management, covering the stakeholders, business interests, network management techniques and their impact on us, the customer. This topic is important for any CTO that depends on the Internet for employee access, customer access, business partner access, or even if you simply have a web presence.
Dr. Eric Burger is Chair of the IEEE-USA Committee on Communications Policy, which is publishing a white paper on network traffic management. He has written numerous textbooks, journal papers, and regular papers on communications technology, business, management, and policy. He is a Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and an independent consultant to the communications, media, wireless, legal, and high technology industries. Dr. Burger is a Trustee of the Internet Society, a Trustee of the IETF, Chairman Emeritus of the SIP Forum, and an advisor to numerous corporations, from startups to public companies. He was the past CTO of Neustar, Cantata Technology, Brooktrout Technology, and Founder of SnowShore Networks; Deputy CTO, VP Engineering, and AGM at BEA Systems; and he has held positions with MCI and Cable & Wireless. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and ACM and holds degrees from MIT, Catholic University of Leuven, and IIT.