Stanford University engineers have invented a technology that would allow an internet user to tell network providers and online publishers when and if they want content or services to be given preferential delivery, an advance they say could transform the network-neutrality debate.

"Net neutrality," as it is often called, is the proposition that internet providers should allow equal access to all content rather than give certain applications favored status or block others. For years, the net-neutrality debate has been at an impasse: either the internet is open or preferences are allowed.

Net neutrality is the idea that internet providers should allow equal access to all content rather than give certain applications favored status. Image credit: Pixabay.But the Stanford engineers—Professor Nick McKeown, Associate Professor Sachin Katti and electrical engineering PhD Yiannis Yiakoumis—say their new technology, Network Cookies, makes it possible to have preferential delivery and an open internet. Network Cookies allow users to choose which home or mobile traffic should get favored delivery, while putting network operators and content providers on a level playing field in catering to such user-signaled preferences.

“So far, net neutrality has been promoted as the best possible defense for users,” Katti says. “But treating all traffic the same isn’t necessarily the best way to protect users. It often restricts their options, and this is why so-called exceptions from neutrality often come up. We think the best way to ensure that internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers don’t make decisions that conflict with the interests of users is to let users decide how to configure their own traffic.”

McKeown says Network Cookies implement user-directed preferences in ways that are consistent with the principles of net neutrality.

“They enable you to fast-lane or zero-rate traffic from any application or website you want, not just the few, very popular applications," he says. "They don’t overwhelm the user or bog down user devices and network operators, and they function with a variety of protocols. Finally, they can be a very practical tool for regulators, as they can help them design simple and clear policies and then audit how well different parties adhere to them.”

As part of their work, they field tested Network Cookies in a home setting by working with Google to give users a way to send a fast-lane service request through their home routers to the ISP’s network. When the researchers deployed the application, Boost, in 161 homes, they found that users opted to fast-track websites related to news, video, voice and sports from all over the world, showing that preferences enabled by Network Cookies would actually get used.

The researchers also ran a separate online survey of 1,000 smartphone users. While they didn’t actually implement Network Cookies in a mobile setting, their survey showed that smartphone customers would likely choose to zero-rate many different applications if they could.

“We’re trying to make the point that the whole discussion over net neutrality has been largely adversarial and misguided,” Katti says. “Government has been invested with the interests of the users, and it has been arrayed against the large ISPs. Network operators are at loggerheads with content providers."

But if users can pick their favorite content for favorable delivery, it is easier to ensure that user choice is respected and companies compete fairly for users’ attention, he adds. "And the way to do that is through technology, combined with transparent, unambiguous and easily auditable policies.”