Economic FAQs About the Internet

Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason and Hal R. Varian

June 1995

Abstract:

• What is a FAQ?
• Where can the current version of this FAQ be found?
• Background
  • What is the Internet?
  • Where did it come from?
  • What do people do on the Internet?
  • How big is the Internet?
• Organization
  • Who runs the Internet?
  • What is the structure of the Internet?
  • What are the backbone networks?
  • What was the NSFNET?
  • What happened to the NSFNET?
  • How much did NSFNET cost?
  • Who provides access outside of the U.S.?
• Technology
  • Is the Internet different from telephone networks?
  • What is circuit-switching?
  • How is packet-switching technology different from circuit-switching?
  • How are packets routed to their destination?
  • What is the physical technology of the Internet?
  • What does ``speed'' mean?
  • Why do data networks use packet-switching?
  • What are ATM and cell-switching technologies?
  • What changes are likely in network technology?
  • When will the ``information superhighway'' arrive?
• How is Internet access priced?
  • What types of pricing schemes are used?
  • What other types of pricing have been considered?
• How can the Internet deal with increasing congestion?
  • What non-price mechanisms can be used for congestion control?
  • Can bandwidth be reserved?
  • How can users be induced to choose the right level of service?
  • Why should pricing be taken seriously for congestion control?
  • How might prices be used to control congestion?
  • What are some problems with a smart market?
  • How large would congestion prices be?
  • What are the problems associated with Internet accounting?
• What are some of the economic problems for commerce on the Internet?
  • How does electronic currency work?
  • Why are so many different types of electronic currency being developed?
  • How will electronic currency affect the money supply, taxes, illicit activity?
  • How should information services be priced?
• Regulation and public policy
  • What does the Internet mean for telecommunications regulation?
  • What are some of the competing visions for the National Information Infrastructure?
  • What will be the market structure of the information highway?
  • How will the choice of service architecture affect the network services available?
• What are other important economic problems for the future Internet?
  • How will network distribution and electronic publishing affect intellectual property rights?
  • What problems will the Internet face in the next 2 years?
  • What economic problems will the Internet face in the next 3-5 years?
  • What economic problems will the Internet face in the next 5-10 years?
• Further Reading
• References
• About this document ...