BBTM Part 4:TIM & BitTorrent

TIM

Telecom Italy is facing the same issue most mature operators see today:

• Mobile video traffic is growing explosively, threatening to overcome current capacity
• LTE is a few years away and requires a completely new network overlay
• The introduction of tablets and smartphone is accelerating the phenomenon

Additionally, TIM is lobbying GSMA to implement fast dormancy directives so that device manufacturers and apps can optimize signalling by batch sending messages rather than on an ad hoc basis.

End to end QoS via CDN interconnection and QoS guaranteed on a private backbone (IPX) is high on their agenda for video services.

TIM is answering these issues in a somewhat classic manner, introducing fair usage caps (daily, monthly), throttling, video optimization and policy management. The innovative part is in the introduction of tiered QoS (speed, duration) per class of service, urging the subscribers to select the speed and capacity the most adapted to their current or projected usage.

An interesting data point from TIM's presentation is related to signalling congestion. In many cases, signalling is as much an issue as actual bandwidth in congested network. Signalling is not only a function of the number of subscribers in a cell, but also the type of device and type of apps being used. For instance, Angry Birds on Android  represents a +351% signalling increase compared to the iOS version, due to in-app advertising. The app polls and displays an ad at each level change, creating signalling overload.

 

 
BitTorrent

Eric Klinker, CEO of BitTorrent, walked in the room like a man with a target on his back. Seen as many as a powerful threat to the business model of content owners and telcos globally, BitTorrent is now advocating the use of their technology (mTorrent) as a highly scalable, secure way to transfer files, with a priority.

The plan for world domination means the replacement of TCP by P2P transfer, to allow capacity for the rest of the traffic.

 

What is interesting, is that BitTorrent has worked and is looking to work increasingly with carriers to help with P2P bandwidth consumption and traffic steering. For instance, in New Zealand,  BitTorrent works with Telecom New Zealand to prioritize to prioritize peer traffic on the island, reducing offshore traffic and associated costs .
Another example of opportunities for policies to transcend the core network, towards content and app providers.

BBTM Part 3: Openet & Cricket

Openet
 
Michael Manzo's presentation focused around the top techniques and trends to watch for in mobile broadband.
#1: Smarter data service tiers
Add QoS payment scheme to speed and volume, allow users to pay for better access and quality or conversely, zero rate traffic at certain times of day when the network is less congested. It is a good idea, but the practical implementation seems complicated. Self care interface for data usage changes, which will trigger PCRF and Charging gateway, which will trigger in turn DPI and PCEF...


#2 service passes
prepay vouchers for data usage. 15$ for 250MB...
 This is in effect in many operators and has proven effective in term of data ARPU growth.


#3 OTT Content partnership
This is the one, I think that has the most mileage. As posted previously, in my opinion, it is inevitable that carriers will have to partner with Hulu, Youtube, iCloud, Netflix, Bittorrent... I cannot imagine  these OTT vendors seating idle while carriers try to monetize this traffic on their networks and to modify the intended user experience in the process. Again, before revenue share is to happen, QOE sharing is necessary.
Carriers and OTT properties need to compromise on what content and services should get what type of QoS in which circumstances to apportion a fair revenue share.


#4 TV everywhere
Premium content monetization for tablets. VOD everywhere sounds a sexy business model, when mobile broadband allows to share content across TV, Set top boxes, Blu ray players, video game consoles, tablets, laptops and smartphones. As previously discussed, it is a business model that has some way to go to be palatable for mass market.

#5 Fixed Mobile Convergence Parental control
Voice, text and browsing parental control. While I understand the value proposition and in some cases the regulatory constraints, this is the trend I am the most skeptical about. In my experience, trying to enforce parental control on content usage, is a bit like content-based charging. An interesting concept that is too complex to implement with today's technology. I don't think it is technically or logistically viable to maintain white / blacklist of URLs or domains to regulate your child's access to the internet.  The web properties change too fast and your average teenager knows enough about anonimizing and redirecting browsers and apps to circumvent any network based attempt toregulate that usage.



#6 Smarter could service
Expand policy, charging, optimization to the cloud. This will be the subject of a future post.



Cricket Leap
Leap is an interesting carrier, with a very innovative, disruptive positioning that allowed them to garner a very different customer base from the rest of US carriers:
Leap's customer base is in majority young (55% less than 35 year old), cost conscious (medium yearly income is less than $50k), from ethnic descent (60%), and use Cricket phone as their primary phone (95%!).

The key to attracting this demographics has historically been to offer prepaid contracts, with unlimited usage. The result is quite interesting with 5.8m subscribers, generating 2.8B$ revenue.

Their tiered offering using speeds and throttling for mobile broadband has been a staggering success. Today, mobile broadband revenue covers the entire CAPEX and OPEX of the network. Which means voice and text revenues are pure margin...

Going forward, Leap will differentiate further, using QoS and QoE levers to create an even more segmented pricing strategy to mobile broadband users.


On the question of traffic optimization, it is interesting to note that Leap commented "Anytime we implemented optimization techniques in our network, we did not see any negative impact on customer traffic".