MITCommunicationsFutures ProgramA cross-cutting examination of the

telecommunications industry

• The CFP is a partnership between university andindustry.

• Our vision is to define the roadmap for thecommunications industry and study its impact onadjacent industries.

• Our members cut across the entire communicationsvalue chain

Overview

Nokia Siemens NetworksSamsungTelecom ItaliaTelefónicaTelmex

British TelecomCiscoComcastFrance TelecomFutureweiMotorola

Charles Fine

David Clark

Andy LippmanDavid Reed

Leadership

• Charles Fine, Chrysler LFM Professor, MITSloan School of Management

• David Clark, Senior Research Scientist, MITComputer Science and Artificial IntelligenceLaboratory

• Andrew Lippman, Senior Research Scientist,MIT Media Laboratory

• David P. Reed, Adjunct Professor, MIT MediaLaboratory and HP Fellow, Hewlett-PackardLaboratories

An interdisciplinary team from MIT heads the program

• Intelligence and control is shifting between network ownersand end users

– e.g. VOIP allows end users control over a once centralized voiceapplication

• This trend is challenging an industry structure built aroundcentralized intelligence and control

– e.g., the US residential voice market alone which exceeds $100Billion is at risk

• Impact of this trend is likely to be bigger than the Internet,multi-media and the PC revolution

– When will every user afford their own switching?– When can all users afford to buy or rent their communication

applications?– When can every user afford their own cell tower?

The challenge

Will today’s users become tomorrow’s operators? Who will profit from value-added services beyond pure transport?

Working Groups• Industry participants engage closely with faculty in the research and provide

valuable input into the direction and content of the program.• Co-chaired by faculty and industry sponsors.• Groups are launched as new issues emerge and disbanded as issues become

less relevant or research is completed.• Regular meetings (face-to-face and/or concall)

All-member meetings• Held at MIT & Sponsor location• Bi-annually, 2 days• Working group reporting, guest speakers, workshops

Research• All research (papers & presentations) are available exclusively to CFP

members on our Web site: http://cfp.mit.edu

Operations

Value Chain DynamicsCharlie Fine

• Examine the impact of shiftingnetwork functionality on variousindustries

Viral CommunicationsAndy Lippman & David Reed

• Invent and prototype scalable,user-designed communicationssystems with no centralizedinfrastructure or management

Privacy & SecurityKaren Sollins

• Examine the value ofauthenticated identity inside thenetwork

InterconnectionBill Lehr

• Analyze interconnection issues inNexGen multi-provider networksincluding overlays and peering

Spectrum PolicyBill Lehr

• Design solutions to facilitate thetransition to a future with bothflexible-licensed and open-access spectrum

Current Working Groups

Value Chain DynamicsCharlie Fine & Natalie Klym, MITRoberto Saracco, Telecom ItaliaContact:Natalie Klym, nklym@cfp.mit.edu

The communications industry is being disrupted as intelligence and control –once centralized -- shift to the edges of the network. This working group seeks tounderstand the business models and economics associated with these changesin network functionality, and has developed a methodology for systematicallyexploring the technology, business, and policy dynamics of new business models.

Topics of investigation include:

– Platforms in the value chain– The future of television– Digital music distribution– The evolution of RFID networks– VOIP– Location-based services– Core-Edge methodology & toolkit

Viral CommunicationsAndrew Lippman & David Reed, MITContact: Deb Widener, dw@media.mit.edu

Viral communication is about building scalable, user-designed communicationssystems that need no centralized infrastructure or management. The objective ofthis working group is to invent and prototype viral networking technologies. Muchof the research addresses a fundamental rethinking of radio in a context ofinexpensive, programmable parts that scale though cooperation. This workinggroup serves as a steering committee for the research, and also suggests ordevelops applications.

Topics of investigation include:

– Structures and protocols for P2P, edge and social networks– Connectivity in both physical and virtual spaces– Scalable radio technology– Cognitive networking

Privacy & SecurityKaren Sollins, MITContact: Karen Sollins, sollins@csail.mit.edu

It is easy to think of security as a technical problem, but it is important to rememberthat the roots of some of our hardest problems are social. We trade off security forusability and features, and we get viruses. We protect the privacy of users and weprevent efficient identification of those who misbehave. The purpose of this workinggroup is to consider issues of security and privacy in the larger context of social,economic, and regulatory considerations.

Topics of investigation include:

– Authentication mechanisms: DKIM, SIP, Web Services, 3GPP, Radius, etc.– Authentication identifiers: examination of I3, HIP, categorization of

identities that require identification– Security and Privacy evaluation framework for evolving communications

paradigms• Roadmap of evolution of communications paradigms from point-to-

point to time and space separated information or content networking• Components of framework (layered architecture for analysis;

identification; interests; contexts; policies)

InterconnectionBill Lehr, MITContact: Bill Lehr, wlehr@mit.edu

This working group focuses on interconnection in NexGen multi-providernetworks. Research addresses a mix of topics, ranging from empirical researchon the implications of broadband traffic growth (for network architecture, QoSprovisioning, and investment); theoretical research on economics of networks(interconnection incentives, antitrust, and 2-sided market theory); and NexGenbusiness models (overlay networks, wholesale platform services, evolution ofpeering and interconnection). The work will be organized into a series of sub-tasks under the umbrella of the Interconnection WG which will be coordinated viaperiodic conference calls, email (and website), and in-face meetings scheduled tocoincide with CFP Plenaries and otherwise as needed.

Topics of investigation include:

– Service provider interconnection business practices and policy– Traffic measurement and decentralized network management

Spectrum PolicyBill Lehr, MITContact: Bill Lehr, wlehr@mit.edu

Traditional models for managing radio spectrum are incompatible a future thatentails decentralized, distributed, and dynamic frameworks for sharing spectrumamong devices, applications, network infrastructure, and end-users. Supportingthe future wireless ecosystem will require new public/private institutional, legal,and market mechanisms. Our goal is to design practical solutions to facilitate thetransition to a future where spectrum sharing is accomplished via markets ratherthan regulatory fiat—for a future with both flexible-licensed and open-accessspectrum.

Topics of investigation include:

– Market mechanisms for spectrum management– Building the ecosystem to commercialize dynamic spectrum access

technology

What our members have to say…

The CFP has created a valuable and unique forum for the exchange ofideas and developments between industry representatives and recognizedacademic masterminds. The program has led to deep research and a rich set oftools to help bring CFP ideas inside corporations.

– Dirk Trossen, BT Research

The CFP provides us, for the first time, with an examination oftechnology innovation that intersects with business innovation. The combinedparticipation of industry and academia directly benefits the analysis of thecomplex scenarios faced by the telecommunications industry today. The ideasand results of the CFP provide valuable input to our internal discussions on ourfirm's strategic direction.

– Roberto Saracco, Telecom Italia

The ideas generated in the CFP are a major source of validation forinternal projects. The consensus of the group has enormous power.

– Marie Jose Montpetit, Motorola

Membership

Full Member• $200K/year ($100K for Media Lab

sponsors)• 3-year commitment• Up to 6 participants at CFP events• Unlimited participation in working

groups• One-on-one interaction with faculty

members• Affiliate member status of the

Media Lab• Limited IP access

Associate Member• Available to small organizations• $100K/year• 2-year commitment• Up to 2 participants at CFP events• Unlimited participation in working

groups• One-on-one interaction with faculty

members

Contact information

Communications Futures ProgramThe Stata Center32 Vassar Street32-G820Cambridge, MA 02139Phone: 617-253-6002Fax: 617-253-2673

For more information about the program please contact our Executive Director,Natalie Klym at nklym@cfp.mit.edu.

For administrative assistance, please contact Sue Perez at susanperez@csail.mit.edu

Directions to MITMap of MIThttp://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpgGetting to MITSee http://cfp.mit.edu/contact/directions.html