The affordability of broadband is something many people have been dabbling with. In 2013 the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) released a report with composite index that attempts to rank economies based on the affordability of the Internet. Here’s another take on the same, from the World Economic Forum. It is also interesting to note that there are 14 countries where the monthly price of broadband is more than 100% of the average monthly income. Moreover, there are 39 countries with an estimated aggregated population of more than 840 million people that have broadband prices higher than 5% of monthly income for all deciles…
The recently released report on the State of Broadband 2014 declares specific targets; Advocacy Target 1: Making broadband policy universal – by 2015, all countries should have a national broadband plan or strategy or include broadband in UAS Definitions Advocacy Target 2: Making broadband affordable – by 2015, entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation and market forces Advocacy Target 3: Connecting homes to broadband – by 2015, 40% of households in developing countries should have Internet access Advocacy Target 4: Getting people online – by 2015, Internet user penetration should reach 60% worldwide, 50% in developing countries and 15% in LDCs Advocacy Target 5: Achieving gender equality in access to broadband by 2020 How realistic are these targets? I was once told (by a member of the team responsible for setting such targets) that they are not meant to be realistic. The idea being that once declared people will strive to achieve and that will ensure achievement beyond their previous trajectory. The definition of broadband was something I was looking for; however, it seems the ITU and OECD definition by speed (a minimum of 256 Kbps) has not changed. Although, “the Broadband Commission for Digital Development has defined […]
The Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) of Pakistan circulated the initial draft Telecom Policy 2014 for comments in October this year. The policy addresses all aspects relating to the telecom sector and has progressive suggestions sans sufficient detail. As a result, specific comments could not be made. However, LIRNEasia has provided recommendations based on past research, specifically on broadband quality of service, the releasing of the 700 MHz spectrum band, license renewals and universal service funds (USF). We look forward to engaging with the local authorities, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for example, to provide more precise recommendations.
Despite proposing minimum broadband speeds during a public consultation for wireless communication technologies, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has now revoked its proposition. The consultation issued in April this year received 56 responses, including one from LIRNEasia. In May 2014 TRAI requested for counter comments. However, after having gone through the whole process it seems that the telecom operators have been given the freedom to define the speeds themselves by not mandating a minimum. Instead, the following is in effect: (4)Every Service Provider shall ensure that the details of Minimum download speed available to the consumer, in its wireless data plans, are –(a) printed on the vouchers of the wireless data plans(b) published on its websites and all advertisements of wireless data plans; and(c) available at its complaint centers and sale outlets Gazette notification and press release.
Quality of Service Experience (QoSE) is generally not what ISPs worry about. QoSE however, is what affects the user’s broadband experience. LIRNEasia’s broadband benchmarking efforts have consistently been about QoSE. In a recent launch of its new service Google aims to provide statistics based on streaming media via YouTube, that will help users make informed choices of ISPs. It seems however that this service uses a ‘push’ mechanism as opposed to a ‘pull’.
The broader plan is to reach a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps by 2015. But for now, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has upped the minimum download speed from 256 Kbps to 512 Kbps (article available here). They have also re-defined this metric in the amendment to the regulation; a data connection that is able to support interactive services including internet access and has the capability of minimum download speed of 512kbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide broadband service LIRNEasia’s most recent report on broadband quality of service experience diagnostics illustrates the actual speed achieved as a percentage of the advertised. All three fixed broadband plans tested in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai under-perform consistently. The mobile broadband plans, including Airtel’s LTE, performs much worse.
Independent telecom / ICT policy researcher Grace Mirandilla-Santos of the Philippines recently presented the results of LIRNEasia’s research on Broadband Quality of Service Experience (QoSE) at the forum on the “Impact and Benefits of the Internet Exchange”. It was jointly organized by the ICTO under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Internet Society – PHChapter on June 27 2014. This was also a gathering of the Philippine Network Operators Group (PHNOG) composed of various telecom service providers and ISPs in the country. The presentation spoke of the LIRNEasia methodology developed in collaboration with IIT-Madras and show cases select results with a Philippine focus. It also highlights the fact that download speed it not all that matters.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya recently made a presentation on the use of mobile phones by low-income micro-entrepreneurs in selected cities in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh at the International Conference on Mobile Business 2014 held in London on the 4-5 June 2014. The presentation was based on a paper by Shazna Zuhyle and Roshanthi Lucas Gunaratne. The research was carried out in selected cities in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh where supply-side and demand side studies (quantitative survey and a qualitative study) were carried out. The sample of low-income micro-entrepreneurs was selected from urban locations (based on the definition of the respective National Statistic Offices) with 0-9 employees. Framed on LIRNEasia research, it is a descriptive paper of the study that provides recommendations to bridge the gap in service delivery to the under-served population.
In its recent public consultation, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) aim to set minimum download speeds for the different type of wireless technologies offered. This was based on the download speeds achieved and reported by the service providers over the last three quarters. The methods used while carrying out the diagnostics is not known. Further, it is perhaps more important to understand the consumers needs when access the Internet over the phone – is it for downloading or for browsing. There is no doubt that download speed matters, but latency also should be given some thought as that is what really affects the QoS for web browsing.
In mid 2012 the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a public consultation on standards for quality of service (QoS) related to mobile data services. LIRNEasia responded. Nearly two years since, the issues that prompted the public consultation persist. Consumers are being wooed by telecom companies in advertisements regarding high speed wireless data services and product packs in which they are promised speeds of up to 7.2 megabit a second or 21 megabit a second.
Contrary to popular belief, higher bandwidth and high download speeds does not necessarily mean better performance in terms of latency or round trip time (RTT). RTT is the measure of how long a packet takes to reach the destination server and return to the client (i.e. the PC or laptop or any device used to make the request). So the less time it takes the faster the web page will load (in other words, the lower the RTT the better).
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has started its approval process on a new broadband standard that could potentially achieve 1 Gbps speeds (within 250m) on the existing copper access networks (press release). This is particularly good news for developing economies that already have / have started laying FTTC (fiber to the cabinet) / FTTdp (fiber to the distribution point). Market players and regulators should not intend to differ plans of FTTH (fiber to the home) implementations, certainly on new builds; however, it will now be possible for the majority to still enjoy much faster speeds at (hopefully) the same cost. It will also benefit the operators in developed economies who have been battling with the costs associated with fiber deployments to scarcely populated areas. This piece by Huawei provides some interesting technical detail.
The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) issued a public consultation on establishing a Quality of Service (QoS) regulatory framework for fixed and mobile voice services (consultation reference: TRC/CL/2/1/1/2). The document was well structured and provided insights to the international standards set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and had an overview of QoS practices by other national regulatory authorities (NRAs). LIRNEasia took the opportunity to respond and used its recently completed research module on improving service delivery in the telecom sector to better inform the recommendations. LIRNEasia’s comments can be found here.
Or should those paying a higher price have access to better content and better quality of services? The net neutrality debate goes on, yet, in the US a Court rules against. A.U.S.
Efficiency in radio technology and heterogeneous networks (HetNet) for wireless communication has long been talked of. I first heard of it at the London Communication Symposium in 2009 at the University College London (UCL) where HIPNet (Heterogeneous IP Networks) was vastly discussed – more in theory than in-practice, at the time. HetNets enable wireless networks of varying cell sizes, output power and radio access technologies to work together towards the goal of boosting network coverage and capacity. With many wireless operators believing that small cells would be an essential part of their future strategy, there is a big industry push towards HetNets. LTE Advanced will further drive the deployment and adoption of heterogeneous networks.
Over the past two years LIRNEasia has contributed to the collection, calculation and analysis of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) database on voice and data affordability, i.e. sub-basket calculations for fixed broadband, mobile broadband and mobile cellular services, in Asia, CIS and the pacific (approx 60 countries). The type of data provided by operators differs within and across countries; however, the sub-basket methodology allows for some comparison. The world development indicators (WDI) report uses some of these indicators along with others in attempt to measure the information society.