Global Information Summit 2001

February 1 - February 4, 2001

Net Conference Top Page

From: Moderator - Masanobu Katoh 2/1/01 1:00

[1] Message from the Nikkei Net Conference Moderator

I am Masanobu Katoh, General Manager of the Washington Office and Chief Counsel for Global E-Commerce of Fujitsu Limited.

I would like to welcome all the participants to this Net Conference. I know that many of you have served before on panels discussing many aspects of information technology, the Internet, and the global digital economy. I am pleased to serve as the Net Conference Coordinator for such a distinguished group of experts.

The theme of this year's Net Conference is set as "Launching the Era of the Ubiquitous Network - Constant Availability of Broadband Networks." This will focus on opportunities and problems arising in an age when the Internet can be accessed from anywhere, at any time, and by everyone as a means to enhance work and everyday life.

As we enter that next stage of Internet development, we face the challenge of maintaining the Internet's expansion and achieving seamless, global, high-speed, efficient and economic access solutions. Web information and services will soon be accessible from a wide range of devices, including cellular phones, palmtop, and other small mobile devices. Moreover, emerging broadband and third generation

wireless technologies will serve as efficient and economic Internet access alternatives for developing countries lacking a sophisticated communications infrastructure.

We would to hear from you on:

1. What kinds of challenges do we have before us?

2. What kinds of businesses can we create? and

3. What is the role of government in the Era of the Ubiquitous Network?

I encourage you to join what I hope will be a lively exchange of views with experts from many regions, Asia, Americas, Africa, Europe, and different industries and disciplines. Your views will be reported from time to time in Nikkei publications and also will provide a valuable input to the discussions of the Nikkei Global Information Summit (GIS) in March.

I look forward to hearing from all of you.

From: Moderator - Masanobu Katoh 2/3/01 0:52

[2] Moderator - Introduction

We have started a month long net discussion on "The Era of the Ubiquitous Network."

I am serving as moderator for the English language discussion and the link between our discussion and the one taking place in Japanese.
From time to time, we will exchange updates so that both groups will be aware of issues being discussed.

At this first stage, I would like to ask you to:

(1) introduce yourself briefly focusing on your interest areas or matters you cover in your daily work , and

(2) pick some issues you want to discuss (with your brief comments) regarding challenges and difficulties to make networks available everywhere.

The Japanese-language group is actively discussing issues such as:

(1) various network technologies such as IMT2000, iMode of NTT DoCoMoand other mobile computing, analyzing Japanese markets, ( I am sure you have some observation on those technologies),

(2) new challenges to contents business because of Napstar and other new technologies. What should be the proper collection mechanism and business models, and the legal structure such as the copyright system? and,

(3) what are the challenges and the role of governments?

I look forward hearing from you.

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/3/01 3:26

[3] Interest areas and matters

Tony Rutkowski, VP for Internet Strategy of VeriSign, Inc, Herndon VA USA. My functions pretty much cover everything that's substantially new and significant across the Internet NGI horizon - technology, law/policy, business opportunities - especially as it involves authentication and identifiers.

My impression is that the topic this year, albeit significant, may be pushing the cutting edge of an arena that is emerging so quickly and subtly, that not much may be capable of being said.

The developments are also occurring in many diverse and insular forums that include wire-based and wireless transport technologies, devices, home systems, peer-to-peer systems, and a largely yet to be conceived world of new applications.

It seemed notable, for example, that at the last IETF meeting, Cisco helped seed the wireless/connectivity everywhere market, by providing 11M wireless LAN cards at cost to the Internet engineering community with several wireless LAN transceivers all over hotel - thus allowing anyone with a notebook to have full Internet connectivity from meetings or anywhere else. Even people with just the cards (of which there are several vendors) can network among themselves.

This seems but one example of where unlicensed, simple, inexpensive, and transparent wireless technology will enable a panoply of new collaborative and "information everywhere" paradigms. On the wireline side, DSL, cable modems and especially gigabit ethernet are examples of "always on" capabilities that will have similar effects.

At higher layers, this seems likely to strongly fuel peer-to-peer applications and collaborative dynamics of all kinds. This in turn has profound implications with respect to traditional notions of creation and distribution of information.

There is little experience here, and great uncertainty regarding appropriate roles. Certainly one obvious one is to make available more unlicensed wireless spectrum. Perhaps the greatest challenge of government may be to largely do nothing!

Conversely, there will be significant personal and organizational challenges to rapidly adapt and make effective use of these always-on capabilities, while trying to maintain a quality of life that where we can be "sometimes-off." :-)

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/3/01 6:27

[4] Beginnings of a taxonomy

Perhaps one place to begin is a scan of available material and constructing a kind of taxonomy forwhat is encompassed by the subject.

For starters, Lycos finds 1700 URI's for the term "ubiquitous network."

A particularly cogent discussion of the subject appeared in Scientific American draft article dated Sep 1991 by Xerox PARC's Mark Weisner. See
http://www.bozotron.com/hypertext/weiser/SciAmDraft3.html

Some recognition should also be provided to computer science pioneer and mentor Len Kleinrock for his conceptualization and evangelizing of nomadic computing - which is entwined with the notion of the Ubiquitous Network. See
http://www.lk.cs.ucla.edu/LK/Bib/PS/paper199.pdf

From: Moderator - Masanobu Katoh 2/3/01 7:39

[5] Moderator - Problems or challenges

These seem to be interesting materials as we begin our discussion. Let's not focus too much on definitions but talk about what problems or challenges we see before us to create such an "ubiqutious network" -- under any definition.

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/3/01 8:03

[6] Identity and authentication in this environment

This is now pretty much emerging. How would you characterize "problems and challenges"?

I'm particularly interested in identity and authentication in this environment - which seems like significant issues and opportunities.

From: Moderator - Masanobu Katoh 2/3/01 9:13

[7] Moderator - Technology issues or legal issues

Yes, identity and authentication are very important. Do you think these are more of the technology issues or legal issues, or both?

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/3/01 11:24

[8] Technology, administrative, business, legal and governmental issues

It's perhaps more complicated.

As to identity, we probably don't understand well how people maintain different personas in the context of different applications, settings, etc. This diversity is being played out in the marketplace for a constantly evolving array of names manifested for domains, email, instant messaging handles, telephones, game player identifiers, languages, and so forth. For some matters, people prefer anonymity.

I expect that ubiquitous networking will give rise to numerous different namespaces among which there will be associated mappings, as well as bindings of additional attributes and degrees of trust - probably with associated algorithms. They will be reflections of our lives and our fantasies.

There are certainly associated technology, administrative, and business issues. Depending on the context, there may be legal and governmental issues as well.

From: Terrie Lloyd 2/3/01 19:45

[9] Product idea of the day...

Hi. My name is Terrie Lloyd and I run a number of e-companies here in Tokyo: LINC Media Inc., daijob.com KK, Layer-8 Technologies, and J@pan Inc.,

I am interested in discussing more practical business issues, such as NTT DoCoMo's foray into the international markets, as well as some speculation into what mobile devices will become available over the next couple of years.

My product idea for today is this:

"A mobile communications hub business: where the base stations are rented out to franchisees, who literally stand around Shibuya and other high-density population areas, receiving Bluetooth (not PDC or IMT2000) phone calls and relaying them into a nearby parked van which then uploads the calls to the PDC network at bulk discount rates...!"

From: Wolfgang Hennes 2/3/01 21:24

[10] The Era of Ubiquitos Network

This is Wolfgang Hennes from Germany. I am working for Lycos Europe (a joint venture of Lycos Inc./USA and Bertelsmann. Here I am making Business Development with the focus on broadband. Before Lycos I was working for the Bertelsmann IT-Company Bertelsmann mediasystems which is also making IT-Infrastructure for the Bertelsmann Broadband Group. At this moment I am trying to push broadband projects instead of not having the right infrastructure for a mass media distribution in Germany (Europe? --> problem is the late deregulation in Germany/Europe?).

I would like to discuss:
1. Ideas and thoughts about the time frame when the "Ubiquitos Network" will be reality in the mass market.
I fear that it can take some years...
2. What will be the end device for broadband? PC, TV, Mobile or the convergence of all three?
3. What will/can be the standard for data compression?
4. Will there be a broadband hype like the Internet hype with thousands of percent stock market growth and then a 90 percent decrease?
I could believe that the opposite will happen: The markets are afraid of hypes because of the bad experiences (for the mass) with the Internet hype.
5. What kind of content will help broadband to become a mass media? Or: will the users accept broadband?
6. What are the business models to make money with broadband?

From: Don Heath 2/3/01 22:12

[11] Ubiquitous Network

I am Don Heath, president and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC). ISOC is the organizational home of the IETF and, in addition to Internet technical standards, we focus on education/training and on the assurance of sound Internet policy development.

A truly ubiquitous and universal network is something that most surely will emerge, but not as quickly as we might like. Certainly we can reach a degree of ubiquity reasonably soon (though not universality) with regard to devices and appliances we are all currently familiar with today. That is, a practical ubiquity using PCs, pagers, PDAs, etc., and both wireline and wireless capabilities.

Most everything we all do today in using the Internet is not unlike the transactions we have always performed - in one fashion or another. We used to do these things through the mail or telephones - or we got in our car and drove to a retail store, a library, a museum, etc., and made our transaction or otherwise did our business. Today, we can do virtually all of those things on the Internet and, in fact, we are not doing much more!

However, when one considers all of the elements that may utilize computer chips and wireless networking in the future, universal and ubiquitous networking is a ways off.

For instance, there are many things that I have to do periodically that I would rather have happen automatically. Every once in a while, I run out of toothpaste, shampoo, vitamins, my toothbrush wears out, batteries, etc., etc. I hate to take the time to run to some store to shop for the offending product. I can see the day when chips are so small and inexpensive that they will be built into the packaging of these sorts of consumer goods, or the goods themselves - and they will have a modest wireless local network capability. After I purchase them, I can activate them in such a way that they will signal my "PC" (or whatever equivalent device may exist at that time) when they need to be replenished or replaced. My "PC" will transparently reorder the product, from the store of my choice, which will deliver it to my home and bill me - to be accumulated by some service or by my "PC," and paid as I would pay my credit card bill today.

All of this, while under my control and by my authority, will then be done transparently without further intervention be me, using a truly ubiquitous and universal network. Obviously, this sort of thing could be applied to clothing, shoes, and virtually all manner of consumer goods. In essence, we will have agents (not human, but probably software) working for us and on our behalf, all requiring a universal and ubiquitous network. Needless to say, wireless will play an integral role in the future. Computer power must continue to increase dramatically while size and price must decrease similarly. And, bandwidth and its availability must increase dramatically while price decreases significantly. Computing power and bandwidth, in a sense, will cease to be a separate entity, but will be "built in" to every fabric of our lives, transparently.

But even these things are transaction oriented, ho hum events. Certainly products that we use today can be manufactured with "smarts" and networking capabilities that can enhance their utility. Again, eye glasses that "see" what you see then access a database to transmit details on the subject - only under your control. Information access and availability coming to us over a universal and ubiquitous network that allows us to be as informed as we desire, through sources (such as our clothing, eyeglasses, hats, shoes, etc.) that today are simply not possible, requires technological improvement that is within our reach.

We are only at the beginning of the true networked society; today we are using new technology to do those things we have always done, only doing them better, faster, and cheaper. When we fully integrate this emerging technology into "everything," and we use it for our day-to-day tasks and convenience, then we will have reached a pretty fair degree of ubiquity and universality.

True ubiquitous networks are inevitable, and the challenges that come with them are formidable. In the examples I cited, addressing could be critical. Technically, we can create a protocol that scales to meet the need described. Indeed, IPv6 would claim to have the capacity to allow "unlimited" addressing. However, if the agency controlling the allocation of addresses might have the power to decide which manufacturer gets addresses and which does not, we could find ourselves with a tyranny that surpasses anything we have seen to date in "Internet governance." Ubiquity requires more than availability and affordability. It requires the governance structures that insure fairness and equality beyond anything the human race has been able to construct thus far! But I have hope, and I am optimistic. :-)

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/3/01 22:48

[12] The Era of Ubiquitos Network

[10] Don Heath
1. Ideas and thoughts about the time frame when the "Ubiquitos Network" will be reality in the mass market.

We should probably be using the term "ubiquitous networking" - which is really what tcp/ip is all about. Over the years, there's been too much emphasis on the holy grail of single networks. Experience has taught us that network diversity has increased and will likely continue.

Ubiquity in large measure depends on access. The increasing availability of unlicensed wireless spectrum coupled with dramatic advances in semiconductor manufacturing, has led to some fairly incredible new broadband capabilities. There are also some smaller more mundane capabilities that have powerful aggregate effects - like Ethernet based local access coupled with DHCP. The result allows you today to take a notebook, for example, and plug and play it just about anywhere and get 10 or 100 Mb/s access. This mode has become so cheap, you can get the gear at the local consumer discount stores. The indicia are pretty strong that broadband at the transport will be substantially Ethernet based.

I fear that it can take some years...

The network unfriendly regulatory, pricing, and tax practices outside the US will continue to damage the deployment in many countries. Amazingly, France for example has just instituted an annual tax on the ownership of personal computers.

2. What will be the end device for broadband? PC, TV, Mobile or the convergence of all three?

None of the above. Just as networks have multiplied, so have end devices - which will doubtless continue. What has converged is the ability to employ multiple interfaces, protocols, and applications aggregated to some extent by tcp/ip in the middle and a html graphic interface on the top.

3. What will/can be the standard for data compression?

Same here - there will be multiple standards - typically oriented around applications.

4. Will there be a broadband hype like the Internet hype with thousands of percent stock market growth and then a 90 percent decrease? I could believe that the opposite will happen: The markets are afraid of hypes because of the bad experiences (for the mass) with the Internet hype.

One could argue this has already occurred with DSL. The markets will favor solid revenue earning models.

5. What kind of content will help broadband to become a mass media? Or: will the users accept broadband?

These seem like orthoginal terms.

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/4/01 2:26

[13] Economic societal realities

[11] Don Heath
True ubiquitous networks are inevitable, and the challenges that come with them are formidable. In the examples I cited, addressing could be critical.

Do you think that access and use by the preponderance of the world's people might also be a critical factor? In the scale of criticality, addressing usually proves one of the lesser problems.

If we really mean intend ubiquity, we need to temper these visions with economic and societal realities, as well as a realization that not everyone may regard these developments as desirable. Additionally, many if not most new technologies have a "dark side" of unenvisioned negative consequences.

The privacy and security problems, for example, will be monumental - which is one reason why there will never be "a ubiquitous network."

From: Don Heath 2/4/01 6:46

[14] Sound "governance" models

[13] Anthony M. Rutkowski
Do you think that access and use by the preponderance of the world's people might also be a critical factor?

Of course.

In the scale of criticality, addressing usually proves one of the lesser problems.

In the full context of what I wrote, I was surmising about the possibility of an organization controlling the allocation of addressing and not permitting some manufacturers to have needed addresses, while allocating to others. Granted, it was a hypothetical example, but made to point out the need to have sound "governance" models.

To be clear, here is more of what I said:
"However, if the agency controlling the allocation of addresses might have the power to decide which manufacturer gets addresses and which does not, we could find ourselves with a tyranny that surpasses anything we have seen to date in 'Internet governance'."

From: Anthony M. Rutkowski 2/4/01 10:22

[15] Wouldn't existing laws provide a sufficient remedy?

[14] Don Heath
In the full context of what I wrote, I was surmising about the possibility of an organization controlling the allocation of addressing and not permitting some manufacturers to have needed addresses, while allocating to others. Granted, it

Wouldn't existing national and regional antitrust laws provide a sufficient remedy? Internationally, there is the WTO GATS. This issue is already in para. 2.25 of the ITU Sec-Gen report to the WTPF.

Since the IANA function is contracted by the USGOV, the DOJ could also easily step in.

From: Bradley L. Bartz 2/4/01 16:56

[16] Ubiquitous Networks - will erase discrimination

I guess I have two comments to start out.

1.) Ubiquitous Networks - will erase discrimination as we know it. Our online "multiple-personalities" will be sexless, colorless, not tall, not thin, not disabled and will elevate the human condition to a new world of communication. My U.S. project now cooking is the teaching of Solaris and Linux to the blind. Soon to be located at blindunix.com if it ever gets off the drawing board.

2.) .jp domain names -- yes believe it or not I am still vexed with JPNIC. As we all know the new rules of JPNIC for .jp domains should create a boomlet in Japan and might be the excitement needed to bring more investment into Japan. As you also might know, JMAIL.CO.JP is the proud owner of 100+ .co.jp domain names, all registered in 1995/96. Some claim

that I "broke the Japanese Internet" with these registrations and the subsequent retaliation and rules changes by JPNIC.

JPNIC has denied our rights of priority registration to .jp domain names. For example our domain hoken.co.jp is not first in line for hoken.jp -- it is hoken.or.jp.

[15] Anthony M. Rutkowski
Wouldn't existing national and regional antitrust laws provide a sufficient remedy? Internationally, there is the WTO GATS. This issue is already in para. 2.25 of the ITU Sec-Gen report to the WTPF. Since the IANA function is contracted by the USGOV, the DOJ could also easily step in.

I refer you to our efforts in Japan to change the domain rules with the Japan Fair Trade Commission. http://jpnic.co.jp/jftc/indexe.html -- this was filed December 1997. I am glad to see the change finally taking place. Now I guess we will try to file a WTO complaint and solicit the help of the DOJ and other agencies to get our priority for the .jp domains granted to all other owners of .co.jp domain names.

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For further information contact: The Global Information Summit Secretariat gis@nikkei.co.jp