Bandwidth: “defined as the speed at which data is transferred over an electronic communication device like a server. The units of measurement are based on the maximum transfer rate and measured in either Kbps or Mbps.”

• Kbps: (kilobits per second) – “A measure of 1000 bits of information transferred per second.”
• Mbps: (Megabits per second) – “A measure of approximately one million bits of information transferred per second.”

To understand why bandwidth is important to all Americans, including personal and business uses, we must understand the different types Internet traffic.  We also must understand U.S. bandwidth rankings from a global perspective and how successful infrastructure upgrades can ensure fast, secure and easily accessible information sharing in a globally competitive economy.

Types of Bandwidth

• Dial-up – the lowest speed of bandwidth providing 56 kbps connection normally used for e-mail only as transferring large files are impossible.
• DSL – much faster than dial-up and has plenty of bandwidth to spare. Is good for large file downloads like video, typically provided by a modem and phone line installation.
• Cable – provided by Cable TV companies with a Hybrid-Fiber Coax connection. It provides speeds faster than DSL which typically range from 4Mbps to 8Mbps. Increases speeds of large download and uploads.
• Fiber – The future of the Internet rests with the fiber connection. Fiber must be run to your home or business and provides speeds of 30Mbps download and 5Mbps upload.

US Global Ranking

It can be seen in the accompanying graph, (Courtesy Akamai 2010), that global connection speeds are much higher

in countries like South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and many other countries. In fact, the US is ranked 11^th in the Top 10 Countries – Average Connection Speed –Q4 09.

From an economic standpoint, the US must move to change its bandwidth competitiveness on a global scale. Many conclude that a free and competitive business model of the US has kept us behind the curve in Internet speed, access and adoption. Enter the National Broadband Plan, developed by the FCC, to change our status in all aspects of the Internet. A comprehensive road-map that directs the adoption of Internet standards to take us through the next 10 years to improve speeds, accessibility, and universal adoption for both business and personal use.

Uses

The uses of fast bandwidth can be chronicled in forward thinking experts who realize to inevitable potential  to change the business and personal use of bandwidth can change our lives, from energy conservation through monitoring and applications , remote medical monitoring and diagnosis, B2B applications to strengthen collaboration, and remote educational advances through e-learning. These applications all have the potential to advance the U.S. in job creation and a global competitive advantage.

Infrastructure Upgrades

Unfortunately, due to a lack of wide-spread competition within network provider footprints our Bandwidth does not compare to a more government oversight approach adopted in other developed nations. While the FCC is looking to change the dynamics in competition, while mandating future bandwidth speeds in measureable increments of time; it will be incumbent on Internet Service Providers to upgrade their networks sooner rather than later.

• The Cable Industry has approached Internet upgrades with the advent of Docsis3 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification), permitting the addition of high-speed data transfer over a Cable TV system.
• Verizon is accomplishing the task by upgrading to FIOS (Fiber-to-the-Home) approach, using the future or (end-game) solution, which most operators will move toward eventually.
• AT&T has adopted the U-Verse solution which uses IP (Internet Protocol) to deliver its high-speed Internet service.

The bottom line remains that without a comprehensive plan by Internet Service Providers to continue an aggressive infrastructure improvement strategy, the US will continue to lag behind globally in bandwidth speeds without proper upgrade incentives, which could put us at a distinct disadvantage in a fast growing global economy.

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The Cable Pipeline: Top 10 Predictions for 2010

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Net Neutrality’s Increasingly Complex Debate

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Broadband Initiatives: Impact will depend on Wireless & Fixed Strategies

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Before I get into details, I’d just like to point out that a lot of this data comes from the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Forecast. A great summary of Cisco VNI research is here, along with a helpful mobile data forecast whitepaper, can be found here.

Video is, well, huge, and getting ginormous

So, what’s going on? Let’s take a look at a key driver of the pending data deluge: Video.

Video is becoming more social and, as a result, getting more use. But, more importantly, it is easier to discover and access than ever. Not just to users with high-speed Internet access, but specifically to users in developing nations without computers but smartphones instead. Not only is the smartphone business booming – as much as a 20.9 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) percent in the years leading up to 2013 (according to a report, “Worldwide Mobile OS 2009-2013 Forecast and Analysis”, by IDC), but consider that, in 2009, one smartphone generated the data equivalent of at least 10 basic phones. By 2014, one smartphone will generate the equivalent of more than 100 basic phones.

Beyond mobile, consider traffic generated in machine-to-machine communications (M2M). How much data will the fridge (and other appliances) of 2014 process and deliver wirelessly? What about asset tracking systems in shipping and manufacturing sectors, medical patient record storage and retrieval, and so on? The latest Cisco VNI figures predict that, by 2014, there will be five billion mobile consumer devices in use and billions more M2M nodes in all sorts of consumer and business/enterprise applications.

Another factor is our changing lifestyle

It wasn’t too long ago that humans would just go to sleep when the sun went down. With the advent of television, a few of us decided to stay up late watching Johnny Carson or Conan O’brien. But now, with the Internet becoming the dominant medium for consuming everything other than your meals – and its ubiquity, and its ease-of-access, humans are changing the way they behave. Research into the habits of information workers indicates that multitasking will add six “network hours” to every day.

Instead of just watching TV, people will browse the Web to learn about a new product they just saw. While paying bills they will watch videos on demand – hopefully educational information helping them to balance their budget, instead of just a cute kitten video. Even while watching a video, users will keep an eye on their RSS feeds to keep abreast of the latest trends…and latest popular videos.

All of this extra network time is compounding the strain service providers will be under in the coming years.

Around the world

Let’s take a deep breath now and ask ourselves: Is my network capable of handling all of that? Is my mobile infrastructure going to crumble under the weight of quintillions of packets? Let’s look at how the various regions of the world will fare in the coming storm. For maximum effect, read the next section in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator. For the forecast period 2009 to 2014:

• The Middle East and Africa are expected to lead the world with the fastest mobile data growth rate (for regions) at a CAGR of 133% percent. The regional will be followed closely by Asia-Pacific, with a 119% CAGR, followed by North America with a 117% CAGR.
• Western Europe will account for nearly 1/3 (30%) of all mobile data traffic by 2014. Asia-Pac will contribute 26% and North America will contribute 22% of global mobile traffic by 2014.
• India will blow the rest of the world away with the highest mobile traffic growth rate of 222% CAGR. China will trail with 72% CAGR and South Africa will have a 156% CAGR.

What’s a service provider to do?

Run, hide? Build a fortified compound and wait out the storm? Those are valid courses of action, certainly. There are a multitude of answers available. I’d love to know how you plan to cope, though – what’s your strategy? I’d love to have you sound off in the comments. We’re also talking about this (and other topics) in our community forum on a regular basis, and I’d like to invite you all to join us there sometime, too.

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Demand pushing Mobile to think Vicariously

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Broadband Initiatives: Impact will depend on Wireless & Fixed Strategies

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Bandwidth: Why fast is important in a Global Economy

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What will 2010 bring for the Cable-Telecom-Wireless Industry’s? Broadband and Wireless will continue an evolution of defining the way we communicate and make decisions that affect our daily lives in significant ways. Relevant companies will struggle to deal with an ever increasing shift of consumer preferences in their business and home information, communication, and entertainment needs.

Here are my Top 10 Predictions for 2010:

1. The FCC will move to increase regulation of ISP’s as a way to open broadband options for both business and consumers
2. The Universal Service Fund will be re-directed to increase broadband access to the underserved
3. The FCC will gain spectrum back from the broadcasting industry to advance Wireless industry initiatives and will continue to grow exponentially in 2010
4. Consumers will look for economical and alternative ways to connect to the things that are important to them through a broadband global universe, including information, entertainment, education, and health
5. Cable TV companies will struggle with a dwindling demand for linear programming and the consumers demand for viewing content on their own terms. TV Everywhere will be a success in the short term
6. Cable-Telecom companies will continue to struggle with customer satisfaction issues and will begin to focus more on this issue as subscribers continue to migrate elsewhere. Companies like Cox Communications will continue to thrive due to a focus on quality engineering and customer service
7. Demand for access to content on an A-La-Carte basis will gain ground with Over-The –Top Access Providers making significant head-way during the year
8. Cable-Telecom companies with underperforming networks will be subject to buy-outs and take-over’s as the industry continues to consolidate and upgrade infrastructures
9. Verizon (FIOS) will continue to gain market share where rolled-out due to its advanced capabilities for consumers and businesses
10. The Cable-Telecoms will continue to make their bundles more competitively attractive as they compete for the one-stop-shopping experience

2010 will be all about the customer experience and a continued change in broadband dynamics. The Cable Industry will struggle with a diminishing demand for linear programming, and the success of alternative Over-The-Top models of content access.

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Net Neutrality’s Increasingly Complex Debate

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The Cable Pipeline Opinion: Net Neutrality’s Conundrum

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Home Gateways: A Consumers all-in-one Network to Broadband

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At issue, the language the FCC crafted in its proposed rule making, specifically FCC NPRM Paragraph 106 as implicated by Digital Society. (see FCC NPRM prohibits good network management)

The crux of the debate for those seeing paid-peering-agreements as essential to increased participation by innovative content, application, or service providers, whether they be start-ups or seasoned, seem to be an open ended interpretation which would ban prioritization. See (What is true neutrality in the network?)

With the wide range of content flowing through the pipelines, and increasing at a rapid pace, the network cannot become a (dumb pipeline). Network management seems to be an essential characteristic needed to handle the flexibility of constantly differing requirements from Internet users. This is not a linear format with constant speeds and demands.

The network must constantly adjust to those varying needs which may require one user to demand more capacity than others at unique times. This management will not degrade the network for other users. It is a matter of choosing one higher demand over a lower demand without degrading the demand for both. It manages the requirements of each user.

As private networks, ISP‘s should know their responsibilities regarding consumer and commercial traffic, and the management issues of prioritizing. Obviously, paid peering is needed for those whose products depend on increased speed and bandwidth for business survival. The consumer wants the same whether they are streaming movies, or downloading PDF’s or just sending e-mail attachments.

It comes down to understanding how the Internet works regarding network access management capabilities across a wide variety of circumstances and geographical locations. In essence, what will it take for both large and small ISP’s to handle the varying traffic over their networks and upgrading to a standard that reasonably doesn’t degrade the user experience?

Hence, the NCTA’s recent reference to First Amendment issues in discriminating against ISP providers in Paid-Peering Agreements. The FCC should revisit NPRM Paragraph 106 and make sure proposed Net Neutrality rules do not discriminate against one party in favor of another. 

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The Cable Pipeline: Top 10 Predictions for 2010

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The Cable Pipeline Opinion: Net Neutrality’s Conundrum

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NCTA’s McSlarrow Speech: Mirrors Self-Serving Control of Pipelines

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