What economic problems will the Internet face in the next 5-10 years?
Once flexible protocols and killer apps are available, users will likely demand considerably more bandwidth. For example, all-optical networks could spring up in high-density areas [Gilder1992]. But along with this increase in demand for bandwidth will come a recognition of the commodity nature of network transport. The industry will have to find some way to recover fixed costs. One approach is common carriage and regulation, but we hope that less regulated and more competitive solutions can be found.
