Many Internets, Many Models

Whatever positions one takes on the "future of the Internet," or the "future of the telecom business," one thing seems clear enough: The Internet is going to change, because it is fragmenting into multiple Internets, private Internets, regional Internets, application-specific Internets (as odd as the concept seems). We aren't going to live in a world with a single Internet, but rather a world in which there are many types of IP networks, some more open than others.

Mike Volpi Cisco SVP, argues that service providers (telco and cable, for example) can reshape at least parts of the legacy Internet. For starters, transport and access providers probably will be able to charge differential rates for varying levels of quality and higher levels of policy management, especially for real time services. Providers probably also will find they can charge different amounts of money for different amounts of upload bandwidth as well.

Stepping back from the inevitable policy debates about how much intelligence "needs" to be in the network, and what such intelligence might mean for new gatekeeper roles for transport networks, it seems clear enough that services such as high definition video and audio do require policies such as enterprises normally apply for their own traffic, to prioritize packets and bandwidth access. This is less a matter of "controlling the Internet" and more a functional requirement, though the danger of abuse cannot be discounted.

And while the notion of an "application-optimized" IP network seems counterintuitive, it makes lots of sense, if one assumes there are large, sustainable markets for applications of various types that benefit from network tuning. Video and voice provide the most obvious widespread examples, but there are lots of vertical market apps that also would benefit from network tuning. Gaming networks, security networks, hospitality and medical segments come to mind. Advertising, marketing, video post-production and other specialized news feed apps are obvious as well. Some apps just require network tuning. And it probably will turn out that these new apps are the ones with clear revenue models attached to them.