LIRNEasia’s preliminary round of mobile broadband quality testing in selected locations in Western Province unveils both hopes and issues. The good news is that the quality of both key pre-paid mobile broadband services is satisfactory, in majority of locations. However, unusual quality drops in several places indicates that this performance is not always a certainty. In general, a mobile broadband user in Western Province can expect a reasonable quality unless a rare issue like the distance from a tower or a higher number of simultaneous users hinders it.

LIRNEasia tested the broadband quality of the popular pre-paid High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) broadband connections of the two key providers. Packages offered by the third provider were not tested only because the operator prevented pinging from outside the network. Mobile test applications newly developed and released by Zamsana PLC, were used on mobile handsets for testing. To further simulate the true conditions the tests were done on public transport.

We saw little reason testing mobile broadband quality from fixed locations. It should be done on the move as that is how it is used. We could have done it from a car, but purposely did it from a bus to examine how conditions beyond our control can affect the performance.

Testers used mobile test applications developed for Symbian and Windows CE, the two most popular mobile operating systems used in Sri Lanka. They took both stationary and on the move readings at key points along four main roads from Colombo to Kalutara, Negombo, Avissawella and Nittambuwa. Apart from the download and upload speeds, the two most common parameters the tools recorded Return Trip Time or RTT (the time taken by data packets to reach a destination server and return), Jitter (the variation in RTT), Packet Loss (what percentage of packets were lost on the way) and the availability. The actual values were compared with the promises of the operators or, if no operator specifications were available against international standards.

Mobile broadband quality testing is a part of LIRNEasia’s broadband Quality of Service Experience (QoSE) benchmarking work. With its partner organization‐ the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, LIRNEasia has been testing broadband quality since the beginning of 2008. The first tests were conducted manually. Later the test methodology was standardized and a software application was developed to get more accurate results. First round of testing was done only in Colombo and Chennai, but now the scope is expanded to cover New Delhi, Dhaka, Mumbai and Bangalore.

A direct approach to monitor Quality of Service Experience (QoSE) would be for the regulator to reach deep into the innards of the telecom network to install monitoring equipment and take remedial actions as per the licenses or the governing statute whenever the data indicate below‐standard performance, says LIRNEasia. Dearth of financial and human resources can be a key challenge for such an approach. The second approach is based largely on user activism. Educated users are expected to voluntarily contribute their time and computing resources towards building a performance database which in turn will be used in creating the bigger picture.

A comprehensive methodology to benchmark Broadband Quality of Service Experience (QoSE), based on the latter approach has been developed jointly by LIRNEasia and the TeNeT Group of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT‐M). While there is no barrier for regulators to use it, the methodology is largely user centric. Instead of depending on one time pinging, this methodology uses AT‐Tester, an open source software tool to monitor all crucial QoSE broadband metrics over a longer period, on both weekends and weekdays, covering peak as well as off‐peak traffic. The traffic is also monitored within segments, ISP, local and international.

(The figure above shows the average peak time download speed to an international server offered by the pre‐paid mobile broadband packages of the two key mobile broadband providers on a selected date. The ceiling is the promised speed of 1 Mbps. Speeds may vary depending upon the type of the handset, time of the day, number of simultaneous users connected to a tower and the weather conditions. Please click on image for an enlarged version.)

Excerpt below:

“There is disparity in the advertised broadband speed and the actual speed, according to the findings of a research project jointly carried out by Learning Initiative on Reforms for Network Economies Asia (LIRNEasia), TeNeT Group of the IIT Madras.There is disparity in the advertised broadband speed and the actual speed, according to the findings of a research project jointly carried out by Learning Initiative on Reforms for Network Economies Asia (LIRNEasia), TeNeT Group of the IIT Madras.

“Prof Timothy A Gonsalves, professor and head of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT-M said the actual speed, measured using an open source-based software application named AT-Tester, showed that the advertised broadband speeds in the country can rarely help in selecting a broadband package.

“In the south Asian context, it is usual for the operators to advertise higher speed than they could offer. This has been observed in the testing done in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” he said.”

Download the presentations made by Helani Galpaya, Chanuka Wattegama and Timothy Gonsalves, PhD.

If you believe something, no evidence is necessary, they say, while if you don’t know evidence is adequate. So we are not surprised if users do not agree, but that is what evidence shows. Test results from Feb 2008 and Feb 2009 round shows a clear improvement, when accessing international servers. The broken lines are for 2008, the unbroken for 2009. SLT ADSL and Dialog WiMax were tested both times.

This was one of the ‘stories’ we presented at the Public Seminar ‘Broadband Quality War: Are you a Winner or a Loser?’ – jointly organized by LIRNEasia and IT sectional Committee of the Institution of Engineers. Prof. Timothy Gonsalves of IIT Madras, R. Thirumurthy of Midas Communication Technologies with representatives from Dialog and Mobitel joined me in making presentations.

Presentation by Timothy Gonsalves

Presentation by R. Thirumurthy

Presentation by Chanuka Wattegama

Presentation by Dialog Telekom

Watch this space for the other presentation slides.

(Click on image for a better view)

AS HANDSETS turn into computers, laptops are becoming more like mobile phones. Even industry veterans have been surprised by the rapid take-up of mobile broadband—using built-in receivers or plug-in “dongles” to provide internet access to laptops via high-speed mobile networks. The advantage of this is that it works anywhere—unlike short-range Wi-Fi technology, it is not limited to a few hotspots. In Western Europe alone, the number of mobile-broadband users will grow by 50% to 27m this year, according to IDC, an analyst firm. Worldwide, there are thought to be around 100m.

However, many regulators do not perform their functions satisfactorily.   To take consumer protection functions, can anyone name a significant intervention by the TRC?  The last I recall is the publication of comparative fixed-line QOS data in early 2003.

Interestingly, the blogsphere, especially the subset of Sinhala bloggers, is emerging as a force in protecting consumers interests.  They are the first to spot changes in terms of service offerings and as seen from a recent post by Kanabona, they also probe behind various claims made in ads. LIRNEasia spotted this trend early and is working hard to develop tools that will make regulation by the crowd more effective.

It can’t be easy for the operators now:  inept regulators with real power that can be (and is) exercised arbitrarily; analysts who pounce on every little thing and whose views may move markets; and now bloggers!

Faster networks and lower rates also help. Having to wait for an advert to download, while being charged for the privilege, was unlikely to inspire warm feelings about the product being advertised. But with download speeds increasing and flat-rate “all you can eat” data plans, mobile services and applications are becoming more popular—and, increasingly, funded by advertising.

The difference is regulation. In India, the regulator is proactive on this issue; in Sri Lanka, the regulator only worries about things like porn and imaginary towers. We cannot mandate truth in advertising; only engage in friendly moral suasion. In other words, we will try to shame the operators into calling their products by the right names: 512 Kbps instead of 2Mbps would be a start?

Comcast, a leading US ISP, has just announced caps on downloads.  If this is the future for rich country users, can there be any doubt about what the future for BOP users in poor countries?

This may require changes in LIRNEasia’s (and Singapore’s) efforts to improve broadband quality of service experience through benchmark regulation or otherwise, using as one of the measures, Round Trip Time to the Internet cloud, defined as first point of landing in the US.  An alternative will not be easy to come by, but we have faith in the wisdom of the many.   Please contribute.