OPEN NET--The Time Has Come

In hockey, an OPEN NET means there is nothing to get in the way of a goal.

And the idea of the Internet was an open and interconnected network, without real boundaries or perceived limits.

That’s why I’m calling for the support of an idea called “OpenNet” a voluntary initiative on the part of private, public, education and governmental networks to begin to return to the premise the Internet was started for.

How will this happen? Very simply, but doing exactly what the Internet was set up to do, and what its protocols can enable. You see, this solution will let anyone on the network anywhere, but also keep those out from being on.

I want to see the organizations that are concerned establish a second “public network” not behind their own firewalls, but outside of it, that anyone who is allowed to access it, or granted “guest” privileges to be able to do just about anything that IP allows. No blocking of services. No restriction on files size or time on the network, as long as they grant such permission.

On their closed or “residents” network the firewall can exist, and all the things they want restricted can still be. An approach like this will solve the San Jose State issue and those of others who want to wall up things.

In the past each time I go into a company’s office, I had to get permission to get on their network, but more and more I’m seeing firms, including VC’s, place a second “guest” network in place that lets the visitors get access to what they need to show. That same type of approach is needed everywhere, and hence the idea of OPEN NET.

By creating a dual access network, not a dual Internet, companies, universities, municipalities and organizations could all have their cake, and let others eat it too.

I'm not the techie others are, but with the idea of a net on a net, a lot can be done without walling up the place and making it hard to see the future.