How Much Can be Done to Improve User Experience for Fixed Network Broadband Users?

Under current Federal Communications Commission rules, fixed network broadband providers cannot prioritize packets, even if such optimization would be beneficial for users of some applications, including any real-time services. That especially is true for users of online video, videoconferencing, voice and gaming, as well as business applications such as remote database access.


But an analysis of data aggregated from 45 U.S. rural communications service providers suggests that rural users behave in ways similar to urban users. There is no significant rural-urban divide in terms of how users behave.

Video streaming was the dominant broadband-enabled application among eight applications studied by Calix. Video streaming accounted for 67 percent of down stream Internet traffic and 13 percent of upstream traffic in the studied networks.

In terms of upstream traffic, business services generated the most, accounting for 53 percent of all upstream traffic.

As other reports consistently show, a small percentage of very-heavy users account for a disproportionate amount of usage. About five  percent of users account for 50 percent of Internet traffic, the Calix report found.

Many would argue that service providers use distinctive usage cases to create customized service packages, at least to the extent current Federal Communications Commission rules allow.

Video and real-time services arguably offer the most-logical opportunities for retail packaging and network management, consistent with existing FCC rules. “A package that targets a superior video streaming experience may offer the service provider the opportunity for an up-sell, and the subscriber with a better experience,” Calix argues.

But what cannot be done, at least on fixed networks, under FCC rules, is to offer a service that prioritizes video bits for such users, as useful as that would be, from an end-user perspective. Nor is it clear that service providers can create “carve outs” for heavy video entertainment users that allow consumption without affecting a usage cap. 


Mobile service providers have more leeway, at least for the moment, to create packages tailored to game users, users of video entertainment or possibly other users of real-time business services.
Report data was drawn from actual Internet traffic monitored in U.S. service provider networks from the fourth quarter (October through December) of 2011.

To download the report,click here