Traffic Management

Virgin Media rolls out 50 Mbps broadband in UK

Doug Mohney — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:12:56 -0500

Cable operator Virgin Media has officially rolled out its 50 Mbps broadband service in the UK on Monday. The launch offer includes unlimited downloads and no traffic management - an offer U.S. cable customers in many markets wouldn't mind.

Customers just signing up for the new broadband offering as a stand-alone service will have to pay around $78 a month. Virgin is loading the dice for bundles; buy a landline phone at $17 per month and the broadband service costs an additional $53 - yes, it's cheaper to buy a phone and broadband than to just buy broadband. Triple play service including cable TV, phone, and 50 Mbps broadband is a cool $100.

Virgin Media expects to have the next generation infrastructure to support 50 Mbps rolled out to 40 percent of its existing network by the end of the year. Coverage to the rest of the 12.6 million households is expected to be completed during the summer of 2009.

Uptake on the new service is expected to be challenging since more than 70 percent of Virgin's existing broadband base has only opted for 2 Mbps speeds.

We can only hope Mr. Branson might export some of his broadband pricing to America.

For more:
- God save the Gueen and Richard Branson! Article.

AT&T inflicts metered billing trial upon Texas town

Doug Mohney — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:04:36 -0500

Poor Beaumont, Texas. First, Time Warner decided to run trial caps between 5 and 40 GB and overage charges of $1 to $1.50 per GB. Now, AT&T has decided to extend its metered broadband trial into the market. It'll be interesting to see if Clearwire decides to accelerate its WiMAX deployment in that area.

AT&T started metered bandwidth in Reno last month, and DSL customers there now face caps from 20 to 150 GB with a $1 per GB charge once you go over the cap. AT&T users are given an online usage tool to track bandwidth consumption and get alerts warning them when they've consumed between 60 to 80 percent of their allocated bandwidth.

Time Warner is trying to convince locals that new billing will deliver guaranteed savings and improve the internet experience, while AT&T says that limiting consumption and charging more for bandwidth (rather than upgrading the network) makes broadband better, and charging more for bandwidth makes it more affordable by targeting "abnormally high usage patterns."

DSLReports opines that both companies are working to cap usage now before Internet video threatens TV revenues, saying data from backbone operators doesn't support AT&T's doomsday scenario of bandwidth running out (Of course, if you call Cisco, the company will tell you that purchasing a zettabyte router or two will fix everything).

For more:
- DSLReports reports on AT&T billing trial. Article.

Related articles
AT&T puts bandwidth squeeze on Reno - FierceTelecom
TWC tests metered Internet, Comcast tests traffic management solution

Bandwidth limits bit users

Doug Mohney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:51:32 -0400

If you think Comcast is the only service provider limiting access to bandwidth, think again. Clearwire and Qwest also have fine print "terms of use" policies that a small fraction of customers have experienced.

Customers have run afoul of terms-of-use policies in downloading full length movies and games. At Clearwire, first connection speeds start to slow, forcing customers to call customer service to reset a connection. Customers engaging in "excessive downloading" get terminated but not before receiving several warnings, says the broadband provider.

Qwest provides three warnings to residential DSL customers who have usage habits that are "hundreds of times" normal usage. According to the company, such warnings are given to about .002 percent of its 2.5 million customer base.

Consumer advocates say that vague policies mislead customers as to the amount of access they truly have, while Qwest says Internet technology evolves too quickly for them to specify a figure of abuse, and is only a small percentage of customers are "extreme users."

In justifying its 250 GB/month cap, Comcast says most users don't use more than two to three GB per month, while Clearwire and Qwest say they are only concerned about how much customers use, not how they might use the bandwidth.

For more:
- Yakima Herald reports on Qwest, Clearwire bandwidth management policies. Article.

Camiant, Sandvine play on Comcast's traffic team

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:28:00 -0400

Comcast's new two-tiered approach to managing broadband traffic uses technology from both its existing deep packet inspection vendor Sandvine and new policy server partner Camiant. The second vendor's solution is key to the second tier of Comcast's approach, where heavy traffic users have their traffic placed at a lower priority during peak traffic time .

Sandvine announced last week that Comcast was using its Fairshare management solution to help the carrier analyze network congestion levels. Comcast also is using an as-yet-unnamed vendor for its Internet protocol detail record (IPDR)server, which also is important to its new traffic management strategy. Camiant's server collects information from the IPDR server to help identify which traffic is to be given lower priority.

In related news, Sandvine also said it is working with three new carrier customers in Latin America.

For more:
- see this story at Telephony
- read this post at BroadbandReports

Comcast sends new network management plan to FCC

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:50:36 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission last month ordered Comcast to develop within 30 days a new plan for managing network traffic that would not punish users of specific bandwidth-intensive applications, such as peer-to-peer applications. With the clock winding down late Friday, Comcast filed its new approach with the FCC.

Comcast plans to analyze heaviest traffic connections during peak network usage times and reroute those users to a secondary traffic stream that will have lower priority on the network. The network operator said its tests of that method in five cities over three months yielded no customer complaints, and that less than 1 percent of its customers on average were affected on a daily basis.

Comcast plans to roll out this revised network management strategy nationally by the end of this year, and if this approach is successful, other network operators probably will pursue similar plans. At the same time, many broadband service providers are eying metered usage and usage-based pricing plans, but will those measures really be necessary to management strategies? Or will they simply be a way for carriers to better milk their broadband connections for more revenue?

For more:
- see this story at The Wall Street Journal

Sandvine still hanging in at Comcast

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:27:20 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission order punishing Comcast for delaying peer-to-peer Internet traffic called for the cable TV giant to adopt a new traffic management approach. It's existing traffic management system--the one it used unfairly, according to the FCC--is provided by vendor Sandvine. However, as Comcast is working on a new system, that doesn't mean Sandvine is out of the picture. The vendor has said in the past that its gear can be used to a number of different ends. Now, the order just better defines what is fair and unfair use by carriers.

Sandvine several months ago announced a FairShare software extension that allows carriers to identify sources of network congestion without delving into applications specifics. Comcast is believed to be considering a variety of possible solutions to meet the FCC order's requirements, and Sandvine's FairShare is believed to be among the candidates, according to Light Reading's Cable Digital News. Sandvine also can support metered broadband billing, which several service providers are testing and many are likely to eventually deploy.

For more:
- see this report at Light Reading's Cable Digital News

Related articles:
The FCC issued its Comcast order last week. FCC report
Sandvine and its competitors were busy around NXTcomm. Sandvine report

FCC issues Comcast throttling order

Dan O'Shea — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:36:46 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission finally issued a formal order condemning Internet traffic throttling practices Comcast undertook that delayed peer-to-peer traffic on its network. The 67-page order comes about three weeks after the commission narrowly voted in favor of punishing Comcast for such practices. At first glance the order itself does not elaborate on what the FCC has already said--that Comcast must explain its network management practices and come up with new alternatives within 30 days.

Comcast actually has already made progress on that front with a new approach that slows access for the heaviest Internet users at times when the network is becoming congested. That approach is currently being tested in some markets in Pennsylvania, Florida and Colorado. The new wrinkle is that Comcast will not distinguish between different types of traffic. So P2P traffic won't be specifically targeted, though it seems likely some of the same P2P users affected by earlier discriminatory practices will be affected by the new approach too. The FCC order and new Comcast plan only assure the P2P users that they won't be singled out to be throttled. Furthermore, as Wired News Blogs points out, the FCC order actually gives service providers some license to further filter Internet content.

For more:
- read this story at The Washington Post
- see this post at Wired News Blogs

Related articles:
The FCC voted to punish Comcast earlier this month. FCC report
Verizon CTO Lynch says Net neutrality clouds the real need for network engineering to ensure quality. Verizon report

Verizon CTO: Net neutrality clouds engineering needs

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:52:57 -0400

Verizon Communications CTO Richard Lynch, speaking at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit, told attendees that the over-politicized concept of Net neutrality and paranoic over-reactions about potential traffic delays have clouded the real needs network operators have in engineering their networks to preserve quality of VoIP and other services.

Lynch, speaking in generalities, according to what Verizon told Cnet News after his speech, said that to ensure quality for a VoIP call, network engineers may need to slow down less time-senstive files. However, that delay may be measured in milliseconds, and may be impossible for many Internet users to perceive. Yet, the idea of the possible delay has set off Net neutrality proponents.

For more:
- see this post at Cnet News

Related articles:
The FCC voted to punish Comcast for violating Net neutrality principles. FCC report
Net neutrality will be addressed by Canadian regulators in October. Net neutrality report

Vonage sub growth, churn slow

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:45:29 -0400

Vonage has a new CEO, and if its second quarter earnings results are any indication, it may be starting a whole new era that departs from a traditional quarter-to-quarter performance characterized by high marketing costs, high subscriber growth and high subscriber churn. In the Q2 report, there was evidence that numbers in all three areas are trending lower, which is exactly what new CEO Marc Lefar, a telco wireless veteran, has in mind.

For the quarter, Vonage added only about 2,000 customers, well below the 56,691 it added during the same quarter in 2007. The low figure reflects Vonage's ongoing effort to cut marketing costs by cutting advertising that once seemed ubiquitous. Subscriber additions headed sharply downward, but the company managed to reduce churn from 3.3 percent to about 3 percent. Meanwhile, revenue was up 11 percent to $227.5 million and revenue per line for the company's 2.6 million lines was up slightly. Vonage also saw its quarterly loss shrink to $6.9 million from $23.2 million in the second quarter last year.

For more:
- see this story at The Wall Street Journal

Related articles:
Vonage named Lefar CEO late last month. Vonage report
Vonage and Comcast reached an understanding about traffic management. Vonage report

Prof: Don't fear the exaflood

Dan O'Shea — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:43:15 -0400

The telecom industry within the last year has been dealing with forecasts of worsening Internet congestion, a demand for bandwidth moving far ahead of availability, but at least one Internet observer says the sky is not falling. Professor Andrew Odlyzko, director of the University of Minnesota's Interdisciplinary Digital Technology Center,said that according to data collected from Internet exchange points, Internet traffic growth rates worldwide have not changed in recent years.

Odlyzko does not deny that an exaflood is coming or already exists, but contends that extreme reactions by the telecom industry to spend more to radically expand capacity may be unnecessary. He told Telephony that he estimates average current monthly Internet traffic in the U.S. to be between 900 and 1550 petabytes per month, up from 750 to 1250 petabytes in 2007.

For more:
- see this coverage at Telephony

Related articles:
Nemertes Research last year said Internet resources could be exhausted by 2010. Nemertes report
Exaflood today, zettaflood tomorrow. Exaflood report

FCC narrowly votes to punish Comcast

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:53:14 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission last Friday voted 3-2 to punish cable TV giant Comcast for blocking file-sharing traffic, an activity that violates the FCC's Net neutrality principles. The vote had FCC Chairman Kevin Martin siding with the two Democrat commissioners in support of punishing Comcast. The company will not be fined, but will be required to stop blocking traffic by the end of the year, which it already independently has committed to do. The FCC also wants Comcast to submit more detailed plans for how it will manage its network, and to make that information available to customers.

It is broadly anticipated that Comcast will appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, the vote adds some momentum to Net neutrality legislative efforts, but certainly will get scrutinized by broadband service providers of all types, many of whom may question the FCC's authority to take this kind of action.

For more:
- see this story at The Wall Street Journal

Related articles:
Comcast looked likely to be punished as of early last week. Comcast report
Comcast had previously skipped an FCC hearing. Comcast report

Comcast adds 555,000 voice customers

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:05:17 -0400

Cable TV giant Comcast added 555,000 voice customers during the second quarter, an impressive number from a company that claims to be gaining a percentage point in voice market share every quarter, but actually 21 percent lower than the voice subsciber additions its posted in the second quarter of 2007, and well off its first quarter 2008 additions of 639,000.

Comcast also lost 138,000 basic cable subscribers during the second quarter, while adding 320,000 digital cable customers. The company reported a second quarter profit of $632 million, a 7.5 percent increase over Q2 2007, but short of some Wall Street expectations.

For more:
- check out this coverage at The Wall Street Journal

Related articles:
Comcast saw voice sign-up boom in the first quarter. Comcast report
Comcast is likely to get punished for Web traffic delays. Comcast report

FCC likely to punish Comcast for traffic delays

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:04:05 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission is a step closer to punishing cable TV giant Comcast for blocking some subscribers' Internet traffic. The agency's commissioners are due to discuss this issue at an FCC meeting this Friday, but three commissioners reportedly already have voted in favor of punishing the service provider, so the agency apparently already has the majority it needs to do so.

It is still unclear whether or not Comcast will be fined for the breach of the FCC's Net neutrality policy. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has said before that there will be no fine, but it is not clear what other kind of punishment may be involved. Martin did say that Comcast will be required "to stop its practice of blocking; provide details to the commission on the extent and manner in which the practice has been used; and to disclose to consumers details on future plans for managing its network going forward," according to an Associated Press story.

Comcast response so far? It still insists its network management practices are "reasonable," a direct allusion to the FCC's policy terminology. Will the FCC's action help to further drive Net Neutrality legislation forward?

For more:
- check out this coverage by the Associated Press

Related articles:
Here's a bunch more Net neutrality news: Net neutrality report
Traffic management controversies may lead to metered usage. Traffic management report

Embarq told subs of NebuAd test via Web site

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:49:41 -0400

Independent telco Embarq told legislators looking into service provider use of deep packet inspection and potential online privacy breaches that it had notified broadband customers more than two weeks prior to its NebuAd DPI test in Gardner, Kan., by posting the notice in its privacy policy on its company Web site. That test occurred earlier this year.

The telco said in letters addressed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigating Web tracking issues that it informed customers it was conducting a targeted advertising test using information gained from monitoring anonymous Web-surfing behavior, and offered them the ability to opt out, according to a story at The Washington Post. About 15 of 26,000 broadband actually opted out of the test.

What do you think? Did so few people mind that their Web browsing might be tracked? Rep. Edward Markey (D.-Mass) and other committee members are already suggesting Embarq should have used a more direct approach. The admission by Embarq will add further fuel to Markey's attempt to force service providers to use opt-in policies for such tests rather than opt-out offers. Either way, it would not be surprising to see service providers adopt more aggressive informational campaigns as they pursue such tests in the future--if they pursue them.

For more:
- read this story at The Washington Post

Related articles:
Charter Communications dropped plans for a NebuAd test. Charter report
NebuAd was the subject of a Senate hearing earlier this month. NebuAd report

What DPI needs most

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:43:36 -0400

I am no image consultant. You may have decided that already on your own if you have seen me in public. However, having seen my share of technologies come and go, some succeeding while others have failed to take hold, it is obvious when a technology is burdened with image issues. And while image is not as important as practical usability, image and hype issues often can kill a technology, or doom it to slow adoption path, before it really takes off.

Deep packet inspection is a technology with an image problem. It has become, through misuse, poor promotion and legislative mishandling, Public Enemy No. 1 in the privacy protection fight, and while there is plenty to fear if companies or individuals use the technology to nefarious ends, there is plenty more to gain if service providers come out and explain in detail why they want to use the technology, how they want to use it, what options customers will have in how, when and where it is applied, and most importantly, what broadband users ultimately can gain from more efficient management of broadband networks.

If service providers are progressive in thinking and aggressive in acting, they can head off Net neutrality and online privacy legislation, or at least make it more of a moot point at a time during an election year when Congress may find it hard to act on the issue anyway. When they are quiet about DPI and its uses, they only allow the silence to be filled with more criticism.

The other part of DPI's image problem is its name. Any technology that sounds like it is to be administered by a proctologist is not gaining entrance to the O'Shea household, let alone anyone else's. Deep packet inspection is indeed accurate and completely to the point, but in a year that has seen telcos narrowly avoid lawsuits related to wiretapping, the name begs for the technology to be viewed as an invasion of privacy. It may be too late to do much about that, with the DPI acronym already embedded in everyone's minds, but perhaps the industry can keep the acronym and change its meaning. Anyone up for Doubly Pleasant Inebriation?

-Dan

For more:
- read Part 1 of a series on DPI at Telephony

Related articles:
DPI has been the subject of much business activity. DPI report
DPI firms Arbor Networks and Allot Communications were busy at NXTcomm. DPI report

Markey seeks Web-tracking opt-in rule

Dan O'Shea — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:28:14 -0400

After grilling companies about online behavioral tracking technology and their controversial usage of opt-out policies, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, said he wants future online privacy legislation to include a rule for such solutions to use opt-in policies instead.

Rep. Markey and other legislators condemned the possibility of service providers tracking customer Web usage to deliver targeted ads, unless the gain clear authorization from those customers to do so. Since the Comcast traffic-shaping controversy, other service providers, under legislative pressure, have started to re-think or postpone their tests of deep packet inspection and other solutions that could be used in such a way.

Markey said, of opt-out practices: "That's basically saying silence is consent and as a result you can do whatever you want with their information."

For more:
- read this report at The Los Angeles Times

Related articles:
Embarq has been questioned about its Web-tracking project. Embarq report
Charter Communications faced legislative pressure to postpone. Charter report

FCC's Martin wants Comcast to pay for P2P blocking

Jim O'Neill — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:21:12 -0400

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is planning on taking Comcast to the woodshed for violating FCC principles that guarantee consumers open access to the Internet. The nation's largest cable company is having its feet held to the fire for "arbitrarily" throttling P2P traffic and not telling consumers it was doing so, reports the Associated Press. And Martin wants the company to pay. He told the AP he'll recommend a fine to commissioner-to be voted on Aug. 1--and require Comcast to provide details of just how extensive its blocking was and what the company's future traffic management plans are.

"The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers' access to the Internet," Martin said. "We found that Comcast's actions in this instance violated our principles."

Comcast told the AP it doesn't block content or services and that the "carefully limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network are a reasonable part" of the company's strategy to ensure all customers receive quality service. That's a bit of an about face from its statements last fall when it said it was "slowing down" some file transfers.

If the FCC follows through with a fine, it'll be the first time it's actually enforced open-access rules and could be a bellwether for the net-neutrality advocates--and a shot across the bow of all Internet providers who manage their network traffic (c'mon, you know who you are) by blocking or slowing big file transfers.

For more:
- See the AP story

Related articles:
Verizon's not alone in its throttling Throttling report
Comcast and BitTorrent have said they are collaborating on solutions to throttling Comcast report
BitTorrent last month seemed to be following its own path toward solutions BitTorrent report
Bell Canada facing net neutrality fight after throttling

Nxtcomm 2008: Let the gambling begin

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:19:07 -0400

Even if NXTcomm 2008 was not going to be held in Las Vegas next week, June 16-19, it would still shape up as something of a gambler's paradise (Or should I say "pair-a-dice"? Probably not, but too late now). That is because a number of the technologies that look to be playing a central role as hot topics of the event are not complete odds-on favorites to succeed. Of course, that means that if they do succeed, the pay-off will be bigger for those companies who were willing to make the bet.

Those technologies and technology segments include provider backbone transport technology, 100 Gbps transport solutions, IPTV, green technology and broadband traffic management. Each of these segments already has found strong support within the telecom industry, but each also is dogged by lingering questions. That makes NXTcomm the perfect place and time to debate their future. For more about each of these areas and what to watch for at the show, see below.

Beyond these five notable areas, there will be some other key themes to explore at the show. Here is a list of top 10 questions you just might overhear--or maybe even ask yourself--while at the show in Las Vegas next week:

What role should telcos play relative to the content industry?
How and when will Net neutrality affect my business?
Can the traditional landline market be saved?
Where does the IP transition really stand?
What innovations are guiding the next generation of subscriber management?
Will a McCain presidency or an Obama presidency be better for telecom?
How much worse will the economy get, and how badly will it hurt telecom companies?
What does it mean to roll the "hard eight"?
Where's Celine Dion?
Was that the artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince?

Ok, so maybe no one will really want to know where Celine Dion is, but you can take the rest of those to the bank.

But, seriously... I can't remember the last time so many new telecom technologies and so many technology-related issues were at such a pivotal point heading into NXTcomm/Globalcomm-TelecomNext/Supercomm. You may not come away with answers to everything, but I think you will come away rich with new information and perspectives, even if you are a bit less well-off financially. -Dan