Wi-Fi Inevitably Evolves Toward Quality of Service Mechanisms

Here’s an illustration of the objection some have to network neutrality rules that bar all quality of service mechanisms for consumer internet access: it simply does not match the expected migration of access services that will use a mix of “best effort” and “quality of service” mechanisms.

It is an “evolution of Wi-Fi” scenario developed by Wi-Fi 360, and predicts that “best effort” access (as stipulated by network neutrality rules) will evolve towards a mix of access types including “carrier grade” access with “quality of service” mechanisms. Voice and video are prime examples of applications that benefit from QoS mechanisms at times of network congestion.

The problem is that network neutrality--conceived of as a way to protect innovation and competition--actually prevents many types of innovation and prevents competition from developing between legacy and new services.

Everybody agrees that traditional video entertainment services (like voice and messaging before them) are transitioning to a mixed market model where both carrier services and over-the-top services compete.

But entertainment video is a “managed” service: customers pay subscription fees and therefore expect the services to work. That is true no matter which access network or delivery system is used.

Historically, different regulatory frameworks have been used for Internet, broadcast radio and TV, cable TV and other content businesses.

Print content has been unregulated, much of the Internet unregulated, but cable TV was more regulated. Over-the-air TV and radio have been most regulated. That all breaks down when the internet becomes a delivery mechanism for all those types of content.

Since the “internet” can deliver all types of media and all apps, it will not make sense to keep using different legacy regulatory models for the same content, delivered by different providers, with different network platforms and business models. Put another way, the business model does not change because an app or service uses multiple access networks.

But if the business model requires some amount of quality of service control (voice and video entertainment, for example), that has to be lawful across all the access networks to be used. The apps themselves often require such QoS.

Source: Wi-Fi 360