Beyond the Internet

The 2015 FCC decision on Net Neutrality and the debate over ICANN reform raise the question about the future structure of the Internet. The paper concludes that the centrifugalism due to fundamental economics and national priorities will transform the current system into a loose and partly non-standardized federated system. Far from being a feared "splinternet" as Internet traditionalists argue, the new system will actually be greater in innovation and opennness, and reduce global disputes