Broadband Internet Seminar — COMN 4320

The Electronic Information Network Marketplace

Dept of Communication Studies

York University

Fall/Winter Session – 2011-12

– last modified Feb 9, 2012 –

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“Just deliver the bits, stupid.”
– David Isenberg, 1997

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Course Description

This course falls under the Critical Technology thematic area. It provides a grounding in digital communications technologies, especially those associated with the global public Internet. We look in an interdisciplinary way at how technology interacts with public policy and regulation, business models, UGC and consumer behaviors. Topics include: analog vs digital systems; programming and natural languages; user interface devices, especially personal computers; network platforms (TCP/IP, PSTN, OSI); email, HTTP and other protocols; the electro-magnetic spectrum; and last-mile broadband connectivity (xDSL, DOCSIS, HFC, fiberoptic, fixed and mobile wireless).

The methodological approach we take is best described as evidence-based. We consider factual and quasi-factual information from many sources, some of it presented as numerical data: network technical specifications, regulatory decisions, consumer surveys, market penetration forecasts, etc. The goal is to develop a critical framework for assessing the competing claims of actors in the communications industry, including incumbent ISPs, regulators and public interest advocacy groups. The course follows current industry events closely. Most of the classroom activity is carried by student presentations and related discussion, with occasional mini-lectures by the instructor on particularly difficult topics.

This course is designed for liberal arts students; it assumes no technical background. Nevertheless, the material is challenging, and standards for participation and grading are high. No one should be enrolled in this course unless prepared to attend all classes; engage fully in discussions, quizzes and computer lab exercises; and learn new concepts concerning technology, data analysis and regulatory affairs, among others, typically not covered in pop culture and theory courses.

[The house stylesheet developed for 4320 written assignments can be downloaded in pdf here.]

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Part One (fall semester)

The Stupid Network: How the Internet is Engineered and Governed

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Wed Sept 7 (B-1)
Mon Sept 12 (A-1)

Orientation

  • Review of syllabus, course goals, penalty scheme – incoming quiz
  • The role of terminology
  • Other homework TBD: open Gmail account; subscribe to Benton, First Monday; organize notebook; spec out computer

Wed Sept 14 (B-2)
Mon Sept 19 (A-2)

Internet basics (1) – The dumb platform concept

  • The Internet’s architecture and why dumb is good
  • Reading: David Isenberg, “Rise of the Stupid Network” (1997-98) – <http://www.hyperorg.com/misc/stupidnet.html>

Wed Sept 21 (B-3)
Mon Sept 26 (A-3)

Internet basics (2) – The Web is many things but it ain’t the Internet

  • More architecture – inc TCP/IP, HTTP and other protocols
  • Reading: Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff, “The Web Is Dead, Long Live the Internet,” Wired magazine, August 17, 2010 – http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/all/1

Wed Sept 28 (B-4)
Mon Oct 3 (A-4)

Internet basics (3) – TCP/IP vs OSI

  • How the Netheads beat the Bellheads – temporarily
  • Reading: Andrew L. Russell, “‘Rough Consensus and Running Code’ and the Internet-OSI Standards War” (2006 – pdf)

Wed Oct 5 (B-5)
Mon Oct 10 (A) – no class

How pr0n and TCP/IP became friends (1)

  • Technology in the bigger picture
  • Reading: Peter Nowak’s Sex, Bombs and Burgers: How war, porn and fast food created technology as we know it (2010) – Introduction, plus chapters 4 and 5 (85 pp)

Wed Oct 12 (B) - no class
Mon Oct 17 (A-5)

How pr0n and TCP/IP became friends (2)

  • The Internet is born, gets funky
  • Reading: Nowak – chapters 6 and 7 (54 pp)

Wed Oct 19 (B-6)
Mon Oct 24 (A-6)

The importance of data and “communications numeracy” (1)

  • It’s the arithmetic, stupid
  • Reading for next class: Cisco Systems – Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2010-2015 (June 2011 – pdf)

Wed Oct 26 (B-7)
Mon Oct 31 (A-7)

The importance of data and “communications numeracy” (2)

  • Empirical evidence and measurement
  • Reading: Cisco Systems – Entering the Zettabyte Era (June 2011 – pdf)

Wed Nov 2 (B-8)
Mon Nov 7 (A-8)

Backbones, peering and transit

  • How networks exchange data traffic
  • Readings (2): IDC White Paper, “Tier 1 ISPs: What They Are and Why They Are Important” (2006 – pdf) … and Rudolph van der Berg, “How the ‘Net works: an introduction to peering and transit” (2008) – text here: http://bit.ly/6w5pVJ

Wed Nov 9 (B-9)
Mon Nov 14 (A-9)

Broadband basics (1)

  • What is broadband and why is it so important?
  • Reading: Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. Next Generation Connectivity: A review of broadband Internet transitions and policy from around the world (2010 – pdf). Preface, chapters 1-2, pp.8-27.

Wed Nov 16 (B-10)
Mon Nov 21 (A-10)

Broadband basics (2)

  • Consumer technology meets public policy in the last mile
  • Reading: Berkman, Next Generation Connectivity – chapter 3, pp 28-81

Wed Nov 23 (B-11) >> Deadline for handing in class notebook (sec.B)
Mon Nov 28 (A-11) >> Deadline for handing in class notebook (sec.A)

Internet Futures

  • Some blue-skying to wind up the semester: see also Pew info at http://bit.ly/djYYFA
  • Reading: Janna Quitney Anderson (Elon University) and Lee Rainie (Pew Internet & American Life Project), The Future of the Internet IV (February 2010 – pdf)

Wed Nov 30 (B-12)
Mon Dec 5 (A-12)

Notebook grades, other housekeeping

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Part Two (winter semester)

The Last Mile: Regulatory and Social Issues

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Wed Jan 4 (B-1) >> Deadline for 1st draft of review paper (B)

Mon Jan 9 (A-1) >> Deadline for 1st draft of review paper (A)

The Canadian media landscape

  • Broad overview of concentration of ownership in the TMI industries
  • Reading: Dwayne Winseck – Media Ownership and Concentration in Canada, 1984–2010 (pdf)

Wed Jan 11 (B-2)
Mon Jan 16 (A-2)

Network neutrality, broadband regulation and the public interest (1)

  • As seen by Tim Wu, who coined the term “Network Neutrality”
  • Reading: Wu, “Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination” (2003-2005, pdf)

Wed Jan 18 (B-3)
Mon Jan 23 (A-3)

Network neutrality, broadband regulation and the public interest (2)

  • Canada’s broadband oligopoly
  • Reading: Catherine Middleton and Annemijn van Gorp, “How Competitive is the Canadian Residential Broadband Market? A Study of Canadian Internet Service Providers and Their Regulatory Environment” (2009 – pdf)

Wed Jan 25 (B-4)
Mon Jan 30 (A-4)

Network neutrality, broadband regulation and the public interest (3)

  • Why lack of competition in Canadian broadband is so intractable
  • Reading: Catherine A. Middleton, “Structural and Functional Separation in Broadband Networks: An Insufficient Remedy to Competitive Woes in the Canadian Broadband Market” (2011 – pdf)

Wed Feb 1 (B-5)
Mon Feb 6 (A-5)

Network neutrality, broadband regulation and the public interest (4)

  • A case study in anti-consumer regulation and the public backlash it engendered.
  • Reading: Michael Geist, “Canada’s Usage Based Billing Controversy: How to Address the Wholesale and Retail Issues” (April 2011 – pdf). See also Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-77 (Feb.8, 2011)

Wed Feb 8 (B-6)
Mon Feb 13 (A-6)

Crunching the (int’l) broadband numbers: the pipes

  • Over 40 datasets, updated June 2011: what do they mean?
  • Reading: OECD Broadband Portal – http://bit.ly/ooX9hu
  • See also Lemay-Yates Associates, “Comparative Assessment of Broadband Performance and Cost for Consumers in G7 and OECD Countries” (December 2011: pdf)

Wed Feb 15 (B-7)
Mon Feb 20 (A) – no class

 (Group B) Crunching the (US) broadband numbers: the people

  • Why end-users adopt broadband and what they do with it
  • Readings: i) Pew Internet (Aaron Smith), Home Broadband 2010 (August 2010 - pdf). ii) Pew Internet, ”Broadband: The Power of Adoption,” presentation by Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project (Oct 27, 2011 – pdf). See also http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Broadband.aspx

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Wed Feb 22 (B) – no class
Mon Feb 27 (A-7)

(Group A) Crunching the (US) broadband numbers: the people

  • Why end-users adopt broadband and what they do with it
  • Readings: i) Pew Internet (Aaron Smith), Home Broadband 2010 (August 2010 - pdf). ii) Pew Internet, ”Broadband: The Power of Adoption,” presentation by Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project (Oct 27, 2011- pdf). See also http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Broadband.aspx

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Wed Feb 29 (B-8) > Deadline – final review paper (B)
Mon Mar 5 (A-8) > Deadline – final review paper (A)

Benton, Ars Technica, Geist and other current readings

  • Class teams will debate newsworthy topics

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Wed Mar 7 (B-9)
Mon Mar 12 (A-9)

Benton, Ars Technica, Geist and other current readings

  • Class teams will debate newsworthy topics

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Wed Mar 14 (B-10)
Mon Mar 19 (A-10)

Benton, Ars Technica, Geist and other current readings

  • Class teams will debate newsworthy topics

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Wed Mar 21 (B-11)

Mon Mar 26 (A-11)

Review for exam and student self-assessments

Final class notebook grading (in-class)

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Wed Mar 28 (B-12)
Mon Apr 2 (A-12)

= In-class, final exam – 3 hrs =

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