Network Neutrality

From a class discussion/debate on network neutrality, I was surprised at how many different perspectives there can be on an issue as simple as whether or not to regulate traffic based on the type and source of the traffic. But yet it is not too surprising when you consider how many factors influence network service providers.

ISPs dislike applications that hog bandwidth and dislike it when they need to provide service to those that don't pay for it. They favor customers that pay more for service and favor partners that make them profitable. All of these factors give ISPs reasons to bias their service.

On the other hand, the Internet thrives when restrictions are minimal. New applications may require more bandwidth and do cool things other apps cannot. But when their traffic is regulated, the Internet's success is also sort of regulated and there is no need to make it more powerful for future applications.

What is my position on network-neutrality? Part of me says that the Internet is application-centric, and ISPs should never discriminate by traffic type, and ideally there should be no need to provide differentiated services. But at the same time, ISPs need to be profitable, and traffic needs to be regulated to some extent. I'm okay with them doing this as long as they make their policies clear. That way, application designers can adapt to the changing needs of ISPs.