The next step - transitioning the world to Internet-wide upgrades - may be the biggest hurdle. "Some people think this sounds crazy, but we have plenty of examples of large infrastructures for which there is an alternative that does some things better, " say Ellen Zegura. "Think of FedEx compared with the old U.S. Postal system."Yes, let's think about the comparison. The postal service treats every package the same, charging the same rate to every customer. Until FedEx came along, distance the package traveled didn't matter. No location was too remote for delivery. The fact that service was subsidized by the taxpayer kept it cheap, reliable, and equitable, if not exactly speedy.
Then FedEx came along. Different rates are charged based on size, distance, and difficulty of delivery. If a customer is willing to pay extra, her packages can move ahead of everyone else's. Speed is achieved, at the cost of pricing a good many people out of the market.
FedEx is something corporations and the relatively better-off can enjoy, while the poorer individual consumer is left to use the slower post office. We hear increasing calls for the elimination of the postal service from a certain wing of the political spectrum as well.
It seems to me that the "FedEx" model of internet infrastructure sounds a like like the elimination of net neutrality. Let's hope this is not where GENI is headed.
