The 3rd Workshop on Internet Economics (WIE 2012): Definitions and Data

On December 12-13 2012, CAIDA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hosted the (invitation-only) 3rd interdisciplinary Workshop on Internet Economics (WIE) at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, CA.

The goal of this workshop series is to provide a forum for researchers, commercial Internet facilities and service providers, technologists, economists, theorists, policy makers, and other stakeholders to empirically inform emerging regulatory and policy debates.

Objective

The theme for this year's WIE will be "Definitions and Data", motivated by our sense that many of the debates today about effective regulation are clouded by lack of clarity about terms and concepts, and lack of real information about the current state of the communications infrastructure. Concepts that have resisted clean definition include network neutrality, reasonable network management, market power, and reliability. Stakeholders disagree on fundamental parameters of central concepts in the industry, such as interconnection, or the metrics for broadband quality itself.

Equally missing is good data on what is actually happening. Whether measurements are undertaken by the FCC, as with the current SamKnows effort, or by the research community or industry, good definition must precede good measurement, because collectively we must be consistent and clear what we are proposing to measure and why. A guiding premise of this workshop is that attention to definitions can inform research in data gathering, which in turn can inform regulatory debate. Workshop discussions will also focus on the impacts of the limitations of currently available data (such as undersampling) and how to gain more relevant data with minimal impact on personal privacy.

Format

The format of this meeting is a series of focused discussion around pre-selected topics. We will spend between 1.5 and 2 hours on each topic, with at least two 10-minute talks followed by an hour for each discussion.

Each attendee is expected to actively participate in the discussion, and as well as provide input, writing, and/or feedback on the report we'll publish within 6 weeks after the workshop. Our goal is to produce a public workshop report, but the discussions themselves (and the identity of specific speakers) will be specifically off the record.

Workshop topics

The list below is the topics we have identified as focus areas for the workshop.

Defining broadband, both wireline and wireless. Are they the same? In what policy contexts will such a definition matter? What are the important parameters? How might the definition change over time? Where are specific definitions required, and will the same definition apply in all contexts?
Interconnection. The actual patterns of ISP interconnection are poorly understood, as are the characteristics of these interconnections. What information about interconnection would inform future policy debates? Should we track the capacity and utilization of Internet interconnections, and if so, how could this information be gathered? Could data on traffic patterns inform debates about payment patterns for interconnection?
What definitions of market power are relevant in today's Internet? What measurements would inform a debate about balance of power?
Tracking the emergence of private IP networks? Are these networks, for example those being used to provide basic VoIP telephone service, a matter of concern that warrant measurement and definition? If so, how might this sort of activity be undertaken?
Regulatory distinctions in a converged world. Does the distinction between telecommunication and information service continue to make sense (note that in many other countries the distinction does not exist, with important implications for regulation.) How do we regulate different forms of the same service, e.g. telephony, in this converged world?
Defining acceptable practice for data-gathering. What approaches to measurement are consistent with requirements of law and expectations of privacy? Can the barriers to useful data-gathering be mitigated? How can the empirical research community contribute to the ongoing debates?

Organizing committee

kc claffy (CAIDA, UCSD)
Dave Clark (MIT)

Workshop Agenda

December 12 (Wednesday)

Place: Weaver Conference Center, Institute of the Americas
UCSD Campus, La Jolla, CA

08:00 - 09:00 breakfast
09:00 - 10:00 Introduction, review of meeting objectives, introductions around the room
10:00 - 12:00 Regulatory Distinctions in a Converged World
- Discussion topics:
  - Does the distinction between telecommunication and information service continue to make sense (note that in many other countries the distinction does not exist, with important implications for regulation.)
  - How do we regulate different forms of the same service, e.g. telephony, in this converged world?
- Barbara Cherry (Indiana University), The Rise of Shadow Common Carriers
10:30 - 10:45 break
- Rob Frieden (Penn State University), The Mixed Blessing of a Deregulatory Endpoint for the Public Switched Telephone Network
- Scott Jordan (UC Irvine), Regulatory Models and Layering
12:00 - 13:00 lunch
13:00 - 14:45 Defining Broadband
- Discussion topics:
  - Wireline and wireless broadband: Are they the same?
  - In what policy contexts will such a definition matter?
  - What are the important parameters?
  - How might the definition change over time?
  - Where are specific definitions required, and will the same definition apply in all contexts?
- William Lehr (MIT), Mobile Broadband and Metrics Challenges
- Gabor Molnar (University of Colorado Boulder), US Broadband Market Structure & Internet Service Quality
- Andrea Soppera (BT Labs), Broadband Quality Measurement
14:45 - 15:15 break
15:30 - 17:00 Definitions of Market Power
- Discussion topics:
  - What definitions of market power are relevant in today's Internet?
  - What measurements would inform a debate about balance of power?
- Elisabeth Maida (Akamai Technologies), Assessing Access Network Market Power
- Shane Greenstein (Northwestern University), Traditional Market Power
- Andrew Odlyzko (University of Minnesota), On the classification and value of communications
17:30 - 20:00 Reception

December 13 (Thursday)

Place: Weaver Conference Center, Institute of the Americas
UCSD Campus, La Jolla, CA

08:00 - 09:00 breakfast
09:00 - 10:00 Roundtable: Thoughts from Day One, nominations for additional discussions
10:00 - 10:15 break
10:15 - 12:00 Interconnection
- Discussion topics:
  - The actual patterns of ISP interconnection are poorly understood, as are the characteristics of these interconnections. What information about interconnection would inform future policy debates?
  - Should we track the capacity and utilization of Internet interconnections
  - How could this information be gathered?
  - Could data on traffic patterns inform debates about payment patterns for interconnection?
- John Chuang (UC Berkeley), Loci of Competition, Market Power, and the Evolving Internet Industry Structure
- Tony Tauber (Comcast)
- Matthew Luckie (CAIDA/UCSD), Measuring the influence of ASes on Internet Routing
- Jonathan Liebenau and Silvia Elaluf-Calderwood (London School of Economics), Understanding the measuring and characteristics of quantitative data on Internet traffic
12:00 - 13:00 lunch
13:00 - 14:30 Tracking the Emergence of Private IP Networks
- Discussion topics:
  - Are private IP networks (for example, those being used to provide basic VoIP telephone service) a matter of concern that warrant measurement and definition?
  - How might this sort of activity be undertaken?
- David Clark (MIT)
14:30 - 15:00 break
15:00 - 16:30 Defining Acceptable Practices for Data-gathering
- Discussion topics:
  - What approaches to measurement are consistent with requirements of law and expectations of privacy?
  - Can the barriers to useful data-gathering be mitigated?
  - How can the empirical research community contribute to the ongoing debates?
- Alissa Cooper (Center for Democracy & Technology), a provocation
- Erin Kenneally (CAIDA/UCSD), Of Skunks & Canaries (and maybe rat holes)
16:30 - 17:00 Final thoughts

Local Arrangements / Getting to UCSD

For this workshop, attendees are expected to make their own hotel reservations and transportation arrangements from their hotels to the workshop. For CAIDA's list of recommended local hotels including shuttle availability, see the Recommended Hotels list (PDF).

The 3rd WIE workshop will be held in the Weaver Center at the Institute of the Americas on the University of California San Diego (UCSD) campus. For directions to the Institute of the Americas, visit their website at https://www.iamericas.org/contact/

Driving onto campus

Parking Permits: Parking permits are required to park on UCSD Campus. On arrival to campus on the morning of Day 1, check in with a CAIDA staff member at the small parking strip (P306) on International Lane near the Institute of the Americas plaza. We will give you a parking permit for the day, and then point you to the Pangea Parking Structure for parking.

A campus map for the WIE workshop shows where the permits will be distributed, the parking structure, and the Weaver Center where the meeting will be held.

Parking permits for Day 2 will be distributed at the end of Day 1, just prior to the Reception.

For transportation concerns, general questions and help, contact Cindy Wong at <cindy at caida.org> or (858) 534-5109.

General UCSD Maps and general UCSD Visitor Parking information are useful resources for navigating on campus. (For GPS-enabled attendees, the GPS coordinates of the Weaver Center is WGS84: 32°53'6.30'N, 117°14'28.02'W)

Additional Content

WIE 2012 Workshop : Talk Abstracts

This page contains names, talk abstracts (if presenting), and topic keywords for workshop participants as they were submitted. Participants are encouraged to read these ahead of time to anticipate workshop discussion.

The 3rd Workshop on Internet Economics (WIE 2012): Participants

This page contains the list of participants of WIE 2012 on December 12-13, 2012.