Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It
| Author: | Benjamin Edelman |
|---|---|
| Published: | March 16, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | February 2009, revised March 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Hidden from view of typical users, every Internet communication relies on an underlying system of numbers to identify data sources and destinations. Users typically specify online destinations by entering domain names (e.g. "congress.gov"). But the Internet's routers forward data according to numeric IP addresses (e.g. 140.147.249.9). To date, the Internet has enjoyed an ample supply of "IPv4" IP addresses, but demand is substantial and growing. Current allocation rates suggest IPv4 exhaustion by approximately 2011. A new numbering system, IPv6, would relieve scarcity, but incentives hinder transition: IPv4 works well for existing networks, and offers easier and simpler access to existing Internet content and services. As a result, to date few networks have begun to support v6. In principle regulators could order networks to implement v6, but the applicable Internet coordinating organizations lack authority or power to force such a transition. In the meantime, a market mechanism for v4 addresses offers important benefits, including allocating scarce v4 addresses to those who need them most, and putting a positive price on v4 space in order to encourage transition to v6. Thus, it seems v4 transfers can help both to mitigate the worst effects of v4 scarcity, and to build the incentives necessary for transition to v6.
When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses
| Q&A with: | Benjamin G. Edelman |
|---|---|
| Published: | March 16, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Experts predict that within three years we will see the last of new Web addresses. What will happen then? The best solution is to create a market for already assigned but unwanted numbers, says Harvard Business School professor Ben Edelman.
Published in 2008
Competition in Modular Clusters
| Authors: | Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard |
|---|---|
| Published: | January 17, 2008 |
| Paper Release Date: | December 2007 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
The last 20 years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems" of firms in a number of industries, including computers, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals. In these clusters, different firms design and produce the various components of a complex artifact (such as the processor, peripherals, and software of a computer system), and different firms specialize in the various stages of a complex production process. This paper considers the pricing behavior and profitability of these so-called modular clusters. Baldwin and Woodard isolate the offsetting price effects in a model, and show how they might operate in large as well as in small clusters.
Published in 2006
A Gentler Capitalism: Black Business Leadership in the New South Africa
| Authors: | Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 25, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | June 2006 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
What role should business play in ameliorating poverty and addressing inequality? Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas, a doctoral student, examine this question against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa. Focusing on the efforts of one successful black executive to recruit and develop other minority managers and integrate blacks into the mainstream economy, Hill and Farkas explore fundamental ethical and business issues affecting companies and society at large.
Published in 2005
The Broadband Explosion: Thinking About a Truly Interactive World
| Q&A with: | Robert D. Austin and Stephen P. Bradley |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 12, 2005 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
When true broadband arrives, everything will change—work, play, and society—say professors Robert Austin and Stephen Bradley. What a truly interactive world will look like is the subject of their new book The Broadband Explosion.
Published in 2003
How Hot is the "Hot Spot" Business?
| Published: | May 12, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Wi-Fi hot spots and the future of broadband were on the minds of attendees at the Bandwidth Explosion colloquium at Harvard Business School.
Published in 2002
Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery
| Published: | February 18, 2002 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
How is the VC industry doing on its own and in partnership with software and telecoms? These were just three topics discussed in special panel sessions at the recent conference. Here, a few highlights from those conversations.
Published in 2000
Presentation Round-Up
| Published: | June 26, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
This round-up of other panels and presentations at the IS2K conference includes a look at the emerging "e-service" model, the future of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, and a discussion of "Genes on the Web."
