Stanford: New Technology to break the net neutrality deadlock read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/879-stanford-new-technology-to-break-the-net-neutrality-deadlock

Stanford engineers propose a new technology to break the net neutrality deadlock. Stanford Engineers demonstrate how ‘network cookies’ could allow internet users to request better delivery from any network or content provider, thus maintaining open internet access.

Stanford engineers have developed a technology that would allow an internet user to tell network providers and online publishers to deliver the fair content or services whenever they asked, an advance that could transform the network neutrality debate.

Stanford engineers – Professor Nick McKeown, Associate Professor Sachin Katti and electrical engineering PhD Yiannis Yiakoumis ­say their new technology, called Network Cookies, makes it possible to have preferential delivery and an open internet.

Net neutrality proposes internet providers should allow equal access to all content rather than give certain applications favored status or block others.

On home networks, favored status is known as fast track delivery. On mobile devices the terminology is zero-rating, because favored traffic does not count against data usage caps.

McKeown said Network Cookies implement user-directed preferences in ways that are consistent with the principles of net neutrality. McKeown noted that “First, they’re simple to use and powerful” and also they enable you to fast-lane or zero-rate traffic from any application or website you want, not just the few, very popular applications.

As part of their research, they field-tested Network Cookies in a home setting by working with Google to give users a way to send a fast-lane service request through their home routers to the ISP’s network.

The researchers called this application Boost, but other home implementations of Network Cookies are possible so long as they respect user choice and are open for all applications to participate in.

In this case, when the researchers deployed Boost in 161 homes they found that users opted to fast-track websites related to news, video, voice and sports from all over the world, showing that preferences enabled by Network Cookies would actually get used. 

Now the researchers hope that their work will encourage all the parties – user advocates, network providers, content creators and regulators.  

Professor Katti said, we’re trying to make the point that the whole discussion over net neutrality has been largely opposed and misguided. Network operators are at ardent with content providers. But if users can pick their favorite content for favorable delivery, it’s easier to ensure that user choice is respected and companies compete fairly for users’ attention. And the way to do that is through technology, combined with transparent, unambiguous and easily auditable policies.”