[Bloat] Re: The hell has frozen: Latency mentioned at APNIC 62, during a keynote!

[Stuart Cheshire <cheshire@apple.com>]

> On Sep 10, 2026, at 10:37, Frantisek Borsik <frantisek.borsik@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> "The scarce resource is not bandwidth, or compute. It is latency."
> 
> https://conference.apnic.net/62/assets/presentation-files/93297823-389f-4ff6-ba5f-73cfe12a367b.pdf
> 
> Incredible. Thanks to Mohit for catching this gem.

Nice, but I would not express it that way.

Calling latency a “scarce resource” sends the wrong message. It reinforces the incorrect idea that low-latency service is a rare commodity, in short supply, that can only be provided to the small privileged minority that can afford it. This is the wrong-headed thinking behind priorities, traffic classes, DiffServ, etc. People assume latency, like bandwidth, is a zero-sum game. (“Better latency for me means worse latency for you.”) The great insight of L4S is that latency is not a zero-sum game. *All* traffic can receive low latency, and that benefit is not counterbalanced by some corresponding degradation elsewhere. L4S with short queues is just universally better than tail-drop with long queues, and there is no hidden caveat or disclaimer on that statement.

Instead of the word “scarce” I would use “important” or “valuable”.

It is true that milliseconds are precious -- once wasted you can’t get them back, but there is no scarcity of them.

Stuart Cheshire