Tech Cycles and Net NeutralityTim Wu’s The Master Switch

Marcus NappierRobbie Kemp

Michael Denfeld

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbl-AqVfSik

• Monopolies: natural results of capitalism or bloodsucking results of laziness?

• A. Smith vs. J. Schumpeter• Money vs. Innovation– Politics, y/n restrictions on new tech, what kinds

of restrictions (influenced by corporations)• THE Patent- politics can play a large role in determining

the future of technology

• Information Technology is not like other goods/services; new product absolutely destroys/cripples old product

Corporate fear of destruction results in trying (and often succeeding) to suppress and stunt innovation

• Bell’s Story

Western Union Dominance

Radio Signal Innovation, “Garage Tinkerers”

ULTIMATE CONVENIENCE; LITTLE CHOICE

ULTIMATE FREEDOM; LITTLE INTUITIVITY

Corporate Stagnancy

BUSINESS DETERMINISMCORPORATE VS. INNOVATORS

Bell, Others create Telephony

Rise of Telegraph Rise of AT&T,

Monopolistic Gains in Multiple Mediums

AT&T Dominance

1984 Breakup of AT&T, Rise of Internet, Apple, Google

Apple II

Google

iWorld, New AT&T

Average Joe’s Interpretation of his personal technology

Cross Reference, anyone?

Apple vs. Google (The Battle of the Century)

• In 2007, the combination of Apple and Google was the biggest one-two punch in the country. Wu expounds on their humble beginnings in suburban garages, where Google popularized the searching business, and Apple revolutionized the computer.

• Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google – “"What I like about this new device [the iPhone] and the new architecture of the Internet is that you can actually merge without merging....Internet architectures allow you now to take the enormous brain trust that is represented by the Apple development team and combine that with the open protocols and data service that companies like Google [provide].”– Breakdown: the openness of the Internet is what allows this to happen. – Schmidt was implying that corporate mergers and exclusive partnerships would not exist

anymore, because with the Internet, each company could just do what it did best. • Job’s announcement of the exclusive partnership with AT&T changed all of this. Jobs

announced that the iPhone would work exclusively on the network of AT&T.– This changed the nature of their relationship forever.– Since that announcement, the ideals of both companies has spread to opposing sides

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/16/apple-vs-google-gets-personal-steve-jobs-simply-hates-eric-sc

Google• An open system• “Taking the internet

revolution into every sector of the information realm

Apple• A closed system• Apple’s control over its

products and its attempt to control the market.

Wu: What comes next is a battle of territory. That is exactly what has been happening to this day. The mobile phone market, along with the revolutionary tablet market will be a hotly debated contest between these two for a long time. –pg. 402

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTshrURtcjU

Tim Wu:

• "Network neutrality is best defined as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites, and platforms equally."

Net Neutrality: The Battle Continues

• Net Neutrality, as declared by the FCC, is “First, transparency: fixed and mobile broadband providers must disclose the network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of their broadband services. Second, no blocking: fixed broadband providers may not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices; mobile broadband providers may not block lawful websites, or block applications that compete with their voice or video telephony services. Third, no unreasonable discrimination: fixed broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful network traffic.”

However, these boundaries enforced by the FCC have come under fire from large corporations since the debate of net neutrality began in 2006.

Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality:Does it affect me?

• AT&T is exploring making large corporations such as Facebook, Spotify, or Comcast pay them for data consumption associated with their applications. This would make data cheaper for consumers, but is this a good thing? Critics argue that only large corporations will be able to participate, limiting innovation and the potential for new applications to solidify themselves as competitors.

• “This is exactly the type of market manipulation we hoped the FCC’s Open Internet rules would prevent. If the Commission does not believe it has the authority under those rules to investigate this practice, it should do so under its general authority over wireless services.” ---Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge

What does this hold for the future?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CHzuSTowRg -

Questions-Do we see a rise of an information empire with the internet—Apple? Google? If not, is it because of competition or is there something truly different about the technology?

-Does net neutrality truly limit innovation, or would free data usage for specific applications make new app developers strive for even greater success?

-What would it take for Apple and Google to change their ways? Apple to become open and Google to become a closed system. Is this how we have grown to expect these companies to be? Do we want them to change or stay the same?