‘Tension between Standardisation and Flexibility’ Revisited: A Critique

Tineke M Egyedi, Department of ICT, Delft University of Technology

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 2000)

This paper is a critique on Hanseth et al. (1996), a study that centres on the question: does standardisation fix the parameters of ICT development and thus hamper innovation. Its conclusions are based on arguments drawn from the classic OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) - TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) debate. This paper starts with an analysis of the different aspects of interoperability which OSI and TCP/IP address, and goes on to unravel the aspects which confuse the OSI-TCP/IP debate: market, technical functionality of standards, and standards procedures. I conclude that an anti-OSI stance in the OSI-TCP/IP debate clouds our view on the problem of flexibility in network evolution. The OSI and TCP/IP standards trajectories show that flexible solutions (compatible heterogeneity) have had little impact on the development of the Information Infrastructure. Is the desirability of flexibility and heterogeneous networks self-evident?