Occam Networks Blog: Industry Matters

Earlier today, the UK's third largest broadband provider, Vigin Media, launched a new advertising campaign in which they promise to publish their average actual broadband speeds each month while also calling on their competitors to do the same. It's an approach that will most likely work for Virgin because the campaign is based on a July 2010 report by Ofcom (the UK regulatory equivalent to our FCC) revealing the country's average actual fixed-line residential broadband speeds. The report, which verifies Virgin's claim to speeds over twice that of its nearest competitor, also highlights a significant disparity between actual and advertised speeds. While Virgin and all of it's competitors are advertising packages of 10 and 20 Mbps, Virgin is the only one actually delivering at or near those rates. The rest deliver actual speeds at 50%-70% below advertised rates.

It's a campaign that is significant on this side of the pond because the FCC has commissioned the same company used by Ofcom, SamKnows, to create a similar report on U.S. service providers as part of the National Broadband Plan. I can already see a similar campaign taking shape here, once the results become public. If you believe your speeds are ahead of your competitors, why wait? Consider using it to your advantage today and begin educating your customers on your actual vs. advertised speeds.

-Rebecca

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[ed. note: This is the first in an occasional series of posts by Occam technical staff. These posts will address commonly-asked questions and topics that we've heard from our customers.]

For many network administrators, there are eerie parallels between the upcoming exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and the infamous Y2K disaster-that-never-happened. Some of the more popular nightmares include:

» Black markets popping up selling IPv4 address space at exorbitant prices

» Unrestrained proliferation of NAT within service provider networks, and the associated challenges of management complexity and troubleshooting woes

» Subscribers changing TV channels during Super Bowl XLV and then not being able to change back to football because some gamer in Pocatello, Idaho snagged the last remaining IPv4 address on earth for their Xbox 360

There are a couple of points to keep in mind to help you sleep better at night: Read More...

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Comcast just announced the availability of their AnyRoom DVR offering to consumers in the Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire markets. The offering will include the ability to record and watch HD and SD television content from anywhere in a home. While hardly ground breaking, the solution highlights the ever tightening race between telcos and MSOs will be won within the home.

Of course, the infrastructure telcos and MSOs place in the ground is key to enabling new services such as AnyRoom DVR. But let’s face it – the attention of the consumer is captured by new features that do one of the following:
- Simplify existing offerings – i.e. one DVR versus multiple
- Offers costs savings – typically in the form of service bundles
- Improves the at-home (or on-the-move, at-work…) experience – such as the ‘Watch in HD’ button mentioned in the referenced Comcast announcement

What do service providers need to stay competitive in the race for consumer dollars? As stated above, infrastructure is the foundation for keeping the race close. And while readers of this blog typically associate infrastructure with broadband equipment (i.e. DSLAMs and OLTs), just as important is the infrastructure within the home.

Operators of all varieties are looking to connectivity – both wired and wireless – within the home as a way to secure an advantage. In some cases, that may mean new business practices that require a higher degree of ‘touch’ at the premise. This may be alien to existing wireline telco business practices but in the scope of capturing and/or retaining consumers, it may be a necessity.

Physical infrastructure is the starting point. But the real challenge is to offer innovative features such as the aforementioned ‘Watch in HD’ button. A collection of these kinds of features coupled with the right service bundles, pricing and customer service are keys to ensuring the highest quality of experience for the end user.

And in meeting this challenge of innovating within the home, service providers may realize the rewards of customer retention and increasing service revenues.


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[ed. note: The article referenced in this post is now behind the WSJ firewall. To access the editorial, you must be a paid WSJ subscriber or you can contact Occam at contact(at)occamnetworks.com]

What role should the FCC, or for that matter vendors like Google and Verizon, play in the regulation of the internet? Much has been and remains to be written on the subject, however, as someone who enjoys reading history and seeing parallels for our modern time, I was struck with an editorial in last week's Wall Street Journal.

The author, L. Gordon Crovitz, remembers the days when railroads were the information superhighway of their time. He notes how the formation of the Interstate Commerce Commission started with a demand similar to "net neutrality" for the US Government to step in and regulate the rails.

I was especially intrigued by his point that the legislation required the ICC to determine a reasonable rate of return on investment in the railroad infrastructure (sound familiar?). After ten years the Bureau of Valuation simply gave up. The net result was that US railroads "sunk into a morass of regulation and proved unable to compete with new modes and new technologies". As a result, US railroads, especially for human transportion, are second class at best.

The George Santayana quote "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." comes to mind. Let broadband drive a new era of economic expansion.

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By now, most industry observers are well past the debate of whether or not 4 Mbps is the right floor for broadband network funding from Uncle Sam. And while most agree the current value’s definition is too low – perhaps by design to satisfy a growing wireless broadband industry – I have not seen too much written about what the real broadband floor should be.

As an engineer, I can appreciate the technical definition of broadband in terms of realistic coverage areas, spectrum allocation and technology capabilities. As a marketer, I look to the market to set the base requirements for a viable offering.

What’s the market saying? Based on my reads, the real broadband floor should be set at 40 Mbps. For more details on how I arrived to this number, check out my blog contribution at VON/xchange and let me know what you think.

Juan


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