NSN Reality Check: 3 Types of Unlimited Data Plans

 
Leslie Shannon (pictured), Senior Strategic Marketing Manager, Nokia Siemens Networks, covers the current trends in unlimited data plans, as ".. after luring customers with unlimited data plans, operators soon discovered the downside for their networks: more congestion. This eventually led to a worldwide shift away from unlimited data plans, particularly with the introduction of LTE, which many operators used as an opportunity to pull back on these plans".

"But not everyone. There are still three categories of unlimited data plans out there: Looks unlimited but isn't ..( T-Mobile USA) .. Looks unlimited and is (Sprint, US; LG U+, Korea) .. Unlimited data with varying speeds (Swisscom, DNA Finland)".

Source: Swisscom - see "Swisscom Shows the Unlimited Business-Case"

"Happily, Quality of Service Differentiation can really help here. The key is to think in terms of ‘deprioritizing’ a select few rather than throttling everyone – or no one. Dropping network priority for subscribers over a certain threshold – but only in times of congestion – is common in all of the networks in Hong Kong, for example, and has the advantage of delivering full network speeds when there is no congestion. Alternatively, operators can deprioritize only the highest-usage customers after they reach a set limit, so in practice throttling only those subscribers who cause the most network grief" 

See also "[ABI]: Shared Data Plan Available to 5% of Global Subscribers; Unlimited to 15%" - here. 

See "The temptation of unlimited data" - here.

Operators Reduce Capex with Openet Virtualized Deployments

Openet announced the ".. successful demonstration of linear and scalable policy solutions at a tier one operator. The demonstration highlights Openet’s continuing investment in virtualization. For more than two years, Openet has supported virtualized deployments at tier-one operators, achieving lower capital expenditure (capex) and operating expense (opex), reduced risk in lifecycle management, reduced time to market and targeted service introductions .. Initial requirements for virtualized environments specify vendor agnosticism, standards compliance and simple orchestration. The cost and operating benefits of even these basic requirements are enormous for network operators".

Joe Hogan (pictured), CTO, said: "Our advanced caching technology that enables us to meet NVF requirements is a good beginning, but we are already investing beyond them .. To help operators fully realize the benefits of virtualization we are enabling a SDN orchestration of application components, load balancers, firewalls and virtual networks”.

See "Openet Successfully Demonstrates Elastic Scalability of Stateful Infrastructure" - here.

Blue Coat Buys Security Analytics Vendor Solera Networks

Blue Coat Systems announced that it has "..entered into an agreement to acquire Solera Networks, the industry’s leading provider of big data security intelligence and analytics for advanced threat protection. The Solera DeepSee platform will add industry-leading security analytics and forensic capabilities to the Blue Coat product portfolio, delivering an end-to-end security solution that includes protection, remediation and governance and gives enterprises complete visibility into the content and context of advanced targeted attacks. The acquisition is expected to close within the next 30 days".

See also "DPI/Security/Analytics Market: Intel Invests $20M in Solera Networks" - here.

Solera DeepSee Dashboard

"Solera’s customers include organizations around the world in many market segments, including the Departments of Energy, Homeland Security and Defense, Hitachi, Qualcomm, Overstock.com, Parsons Corporation and Zions Bank. For these customers, Solera’s DeepSee platform helps defend against advanced persistent threats and targeted malware attacks".

See "Blue Coat to Acquire Solera Networks" - here.

Akamai Integrates Verivue's Operator's CDN

Following the acquisition of Verivue, Akamai Technologies (see "Akamai Acquires Verivue to Offer Licensed CDN" - here) is now integrating the acquired technology into its Aura - the operator CDN (OCDN) solution.

The CDN vendor announced that ".. Recognizing that operators have different requirements driving their CDN deployments, the Aura Network Solutions suite is comprised of two distinct OCDN product lines – Aura Lumen (licensed CDN) and Aura Spectra (Software-as-a-Service CDN). This model is designed to maximize flexibility in how operators deploy the solution and, in turn, increase the value of their OCDN investment. Further, the integration of products obtained through Akamai's acquisition of Verivue has allowed Akamai to deliver Aura Lumen as a comprehensive solution that can be owned and run by the operator, giving them greater control of their investment.

• Aura Lumen: A Licensed CDN (LCDN) software suite based on CDN technology obtained through the Verivue acquisition. Designed to run on standard commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware or preapproved Virtual Machine (VM) environments, Aura Lumen includes a number of software components intended to meet the critical requirements of an LCDN deployment. 

• Aura Spectra: A SaaS CDN suite providing operators with media CDN capabilities that can be deployed quickly and with far less upfront investment required with a traditional DIY model. Aura Spectra is based on Akamai's CDN software technology and includes the following SaaS components:

See "Akamai Introduces New Elements to Aura Network Solutions Family" - here.

Tim Wu: "market forces will help keep new pricing or throttling regimes from getting out of control"

David Talbot (pictured) writes to the MIT Technology Review about the current status of Net Neutrality (mostly from US perspective).

"This fall, Verizon will try to persuade a federal judge to throw out U.S. Federal Communications Commission regulations requiring “net neutrality” ... The Wall Street Journal recently reported that ESPN was in talks with Verizon Wireless [here] to exclude the sports network’s content from data caps.  ..But AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, in a talk this month to investors, suggested [here] that this sort of thing would be more likely in the future .. Germany’s Deutsche Telekom recently announced [here] that it would impose strict data caps on home users’ Internet downloads by 2016—but would exempt its own TV service .. a crop of new technologies—especially on the wireless side—are creating priority service and policies that allow preferential treatment of some data to content providers who pay extra". 

"Tim Wu [here, pictured]  predicts that market forces will help keep new pricing or throttling regimes from getting out of control. For example, if ISPs try to charge Google to carry its data, Google could charge the ISP for the privilege. The status quo ante might be strong enough that it is too scary to mess with it, because all hell would break loose.. I think the whole balance of power is changing on net neutrality, and there is a real danger for cable and phone companies, where if they try to charge Internet firms, they will end up paying instead.”
   

See "All Data Packets Are Equal—Some More than Others" - here.

Procera Displaced DPI Competitor in APAC MSO

  

PL-8920

Procera Networks announced it has "..secured an initial order from a tier one cable multi-system operator (MSO) in the Asia Pacific region that includes multiplePacketLogic™ 8920 [here] systems to replace an existing Deep Packet Inspection vendor in its network". 

See also - "Allot Adds 10GE Mid-Range DPI - Can it Compete with Procera's 8920?" - here.

See "APAC Tier 1 Cable MSO Selects Procera Networks" - here.

[Infonetics]: Carrier Wi-Fi to Reach $3.9B by 2017, Fueled by MNOs; Cisco and Ruckus Lead

A new research by Richard Webb (pictured), directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi, Infonetics Research finds that "The carrier WiFi space is red hot right now, driven by the explosion in demand from mobile operators using WiFi to augment their 3G/4G deployments and offload a portion of mobile data traffic to unlicensed spectrum .. and enhance the broadband experience for users. For the long-term success of carrier WiFi, though, integration with the mobile network is key.

• Carrier WiFi equipment revenue, including carrier WiFi access points and WiFi hotspot controllers, jumped 53% worldwide in 2012 from 2011
   
• Perennial market leader Cisco again led carrier WiFi revenue share in 2012, followed by Ruckus Wireless and Ericsson; all 3 vendors achieved notable year-over-year growth
   
• The global carrier WiFi equipment market is forecast by Infonetics to top $3.9 billion by 2017, primarily driven by mobile operators deploying carrier WiFi for data offload"

See "Carrier WiFi market is red hot" - here.

NSN: New Radio Software Reduces WCDMA Network Signaling

 
Nokia Siemens Networks launched "..new software applications for the Liquid Radio WCDMA Software Suite to help mobile broadband manage the smartphone boom and substantially reduce the network signaling overload .. 

• Fast Dormancy Profiling is a new Nokia Siemens Networks technology that identifies the legacy smartphones connecting to the network and eliminates the unnecessary signaling they often create. This application significantly reduces the air interface load on the Radio Network Controller (RNC). [see also "[NSN]: Chatty Android Phones should Move on to Network Controlled Fast Dormancy" - here]

• With Fast Cell PCH Switching, also a Nokia Siemens Networks technology, the network learns how specific smartphones are using the network services and shortcuts the signaling process for rapid call set-up, faster response from mobile broadband services and reduced signaling.

• High Speed Cell FACH enables networks to support more smartphones and provide faster services for subscribers using lower data volumes. It also significantly decreases signaling load between the RNC, base station and smartphone.

See "Liquid Radio WCDMA Software Suite helps operators reduce signaling, manage the smartphone traffic boom" - here.

Optimization Deployments [253]: Viti [French Polynesia] Uses DiViNetworks to Increase Capacity

 
DiViNetworks announced that "By using DiViCloud Viti obtains additional data capacity to French Polynesia in the Pacific at half the market price. Viti is a leading 4G provider [WiMAX] in French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean .. Viti uses DiViCloud on top of its current provider – Hawaiian Telecom"

Bernard Foray (pictured), CEO, Viti said: “DiViCloud is equivalent to additional IP bandwidth. Furthermore, it operates on top of any combination of existing providers, without having to change current contracts or technical deployment. DiViCloud is the most flexible form for obtaining data capacity”

See "Viti selects DiViNetworks to Provide International Data Capacity" - here.

[IDC]:"CSPs must find ways to generate more revenue throughout the video value chain"

A new report by Debra Osswald (pictured), Research Vice President of Communications Service Provider Operations, IDC (sponsored by Allot Communications), finds that "As over-the-top (OTT) and online video offerings evolve and diversify, mobile operators must compete based on the perceived quality of their broadband offerings, as well as on their ability to offer relevant services to both consumers and content providers". The report "examines the role that video optimization, caching, and analytics play in enhancing quality of experience (QoE) while alleviating bandwidth costs and enabling differentiated service offerings.

• Video Optimization directly addresses issues relating to both quality of experience and bandwidth utilization
   
• Video caching plays an additional role in this opportunity. It stores content on the edge of the network, as shown in Figure 1, and uses logical assessments of content usage and popularity to improve and optimize which content is stored there". 

More on Allot's revenues from these technologies - see "Allot's Revenues from 2012 Acquisitions" - here. See also "Is the Optimization Market Declining? " - here. 

See "Where’s the Value in OTT Video?" - here.

[TechNavio]: DSC Market - 51% CAGR for 2012-16

A recent report by TechNavio forecasts ".. the Global Diameter Signaling Controller market to grow at a CAGR of 50.73 percent over the period 2012-2016. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing deployment of LTE networks"

Other recent reports stated:

• Arc Chart: 90% CAGR, 2012-2017 [here, Feb 2013]
• Infonetics: 900% in 2012 over 2011 [here, Jan 2013]
• Exact Ventures: Diameter Signaling Controller (DSC) cumulative product revenues between 2011 and 2016 are forecasted to approach $1 billion [here, June 2012]

"Key vendors dominating this space include Acme Packet Inc.,F5 Networks Inc., and Tekelec Inc". [the first and last acquired by Oracle, and it seems that Oracle will focus on the Tekelec product - see "Oracle - All the Diameter s/w One may Need, Now with Tekelec" - here]. 

"Other vendors mentioned in the report are Allot Communications Inc., Bridgewater Systems Corp. [Amdocs], Procera Networks Inc., and Sandvine Corp.". 

See "Global Diameter Signaling Controller Market 2012-2016" - here.

Juniper [W/Guavus] Unveils Analytics

Juniper Networks unveiled the ".. Junos® Network Analytics suite .. developed with Guavus [see "Guavus: Characterization of OTT Traffic without DPI" - here].

 .. Junos Network Analytics extracts network flow data and routing tables from Juniper Networks routing platforms or other third-party vendor routing platforms .. SKUs are available now and subscription-based pricing will be on Juniper's price list in June 2013.

• BizReflex: A network analytics engine and dashboard for business decision makers that allow them to gather critical intelligence on how customers, peers and prospects interact with the network. This tool extracts and analyzes information from edge and core routers to allow operators to segment enterprise customers according to their respective value and price services accordingly, improving margins and customer retention. It also allows service providers to identify high-value prospects and acquire new customers more efficiently. These valuable insights can increase revenue opportunities and enhance service differentiation. 

• NetReflex: Provides network architects and operations personnel with detailed traffic trends and analysis for IP and MPLS networks. This solution gives operators more insight than previously possible into traffic patterns on the network, allowing network service providers to reduce costs with informed decision capabilities and improve the efficiency of their network".

See "Juniper Networks Delivers Big Data Analytics Solution for Better Network Intelligence and to Drive Informed Decisions" - here.

Oi [Brazil] Uses Aptilo to Create a Public Wi-Fi over Home/SMB Routers

Aptilo Networks announced that "Brazilian telecommunications provider Oi  has deployed the Aptilo Service Management Platform™ (SMP) .. Homes and small-to-medium businesses share Oi’s vast copper xDSL network and have Wi-Fi-capable routers. Oi is using the excess capacity in those residential and business locations by adding an additional SSID for their public Wi-Fi service. In this way Oi creates a huge Wi-Fi footprint and can automatically – through the SIM authentication in the Aptilo Service Management Platform – offload mobile data traffic to their xDSL pipeline from anywhere in the country. 

Aptilo’s wireless service management platform was easily integrated into Oi’s mobile and fixed broadband core, with SIM authentication and policy lookups conducted using SOAP/XML. Options for EAP/SIM authentication, MAC address and WISPr authentication all for the same user are enabled; the network intelligently selects the best authentication method available".

At the end of March 2013, Oi had (see charts below) 18.5M residential customers of which (5.25M broadband customers) and 604K broadband business customers.


See "Brazil’s Largest Telecom Operator, Oi, Taps Aptilo for Service Provider Wi-Fi" - here.

CommProve Adds LTE Support

CommProve launched its "Mobile Broadband (MBB) Insight application for LTE. Expanding on the existing CommProve Insight application suite, the LTE application provides operators with invaluable network-wide information including handset usage trends, subscriber location and customer profile information. MBB Insight enables operators to improve both the quality of service (QoS) on the network but also subscriber quality of experience (QoE) .. CommProve’s MBB Insight application has been widely deployed to date with customers all over the world including Telecom Italia as well as Telecom Personal in Argentina and Wataniya Maldives. The application is available immediately for deployment.

Source: Commprove

Source: Commprove

CommProve’s NetLedge 4G monitoring platform provides the MBB Insight application with correlated user and control plane information so operators know where a subscriber is, and what device/application they’re using. This network subscriber view enables operators to truly understand network congestion and how this is impacting subscriber experience so that they can proactively trouble shoot network issues even when subscribers are on the move".

See "CommProve Launches Mobile Broadband Insight for LTE" -here.

[ABI]: Shared Data Plan Available to 5% of Global Subscribers; Unlimited to 15%

  

A recent report by Jake Saunders [pictured], VP Forecasting, ABI Research finds that "Although much talked about, Multi-device Shared Plans are relatively novel with approximately only 5% of mobile subscribers having the option to subscribe to Multi-device Shared Plans. Of the addressable market, 15% can choose from All You Can Eat Data plans, but 66% only have recourse to the traditional Tiered Usage Pricing model"

It seems the trend is towards shared plans - one example is "Vodafone to Offer Multi-Device and Family Plans (End of 2013)" - here and "Verizon now has 1/3 of postpaid subs on Share Everything plans" - here.

See "Multi-device Shared Plans Available to 5% of the Worldwide Mobile Subscriber Market" - here

Openwave Offers Analytics as a Cloud Service and Dashboards (Screenshots Inside)

Openwave Mobility announced the "..latest version of Mobile Analytics. This solution combines mission critical mobile data analysis functionality, greater ease-of-use and the option of hosting it in the cloud (Cloud Edition) or in-network (Business Edition). The solution can also be deployed in a virtualized environment with dynamic scaling that closely aligns with the industry initiative for network function virtualization (NFV) .. available immediately" 

"Key features of the new Mobile Analytics (Cloud Edition) and (Business Edition) solution include: Virtualized deployment model .. Dynamic segmentation & real time report generation .. Integrated, interactive dashboards .. Trending ..Correlation of key data points .. Actionable intelligence and Standard interfaces to integrate with existing data warehouse, user repositories and restful API.

Openwave shared with me some screenshots of the new dashboards:

• The Devices Dashboard provides a starting point for analysis based on the mobile devices using a carrier's network:

source: Openwave Mobility

• The Categorization Dashboard provides a starting point for analysis based on the sites visited based on their Category:

Openwave Mobility

• The Segmentation Dashboard provides a starting point for analysis based on the sites visited based on subscriber segment:

Openwave Mobility

See "Openwave Mobility Launches Cloud-Based Mobile Data Analytics Solution" - here.

US MVNO Offers Self-Provisioned Data Plans and Parental Control

A US MVNO, Zact (operated over Sprint), offers a "new service that will give you a whole new level of freedom, control and flexibility. With Zact, you get a whole lot more than just voice, text and data. Zact lets you quickly adjust your plan right from your device. You never have to worry about overpaying because you get a Never Overpay Guarantee. All of your voice, text and data is truly shareable, and you get an unprecedented level of parental control of your kids’ devices with Zact.

See "Meet Zact. The First-Ever Smart Mobile Service" - here.

NSN and Ericsson Offer Smarter Wi-Fi (Traffic Steering)

Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network announced the following on the same day: 

• Nokia Siemens Networks is enhancing ".. its Smart Wi-Fi solution to provide the industry’s most comprehensive traffic steering capabilities between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. The company is also launching a new 3G Femtocell Access Point for seamless connectivity in residential areas. By enhancing cellular networks with Wi-Fi and residential access points, operators can ensure seamless connectivity and positive customer experience across all networks .. The new Smart Wi-Fi capabilities and its flexible client-server architecture will also boost early implementation of ANDSF by bringing ANDSF software support on existing smartphones and devices. The new capabilities also support IT-based HotSpot 2.0 ANQP***, which will enable devices to select the optimal Wi-Fi access point for best mobile broadband quality when the operator decides to steer subscribers to Wi-Fi".
  
  See "Mobile operators: make cellular and Wi-Fi work together" - here.

• Ericsson announced its "3GPP compliant Wi-Fi network access, control and management solutions. These enable mobile operators to easily incorporate Wi-Fi in their heterogeneous network strategy, while delivering a consistently high-performance user experience, even in high traffic areas. Incorporating Wi-Fi is a key focus of tier-one mobile operators ..  Key to the user experience is an Ericsson industry-first feature that automatically selects the best connection: real-time traffic steering. Ericsson's real-time traffic steering is a software upgrade that constantly assesses key performance indicators in both the mobile 3GPP network and the Wi-Fi network before dynamically and seamlessly shifting the consumer's smartphone connection between networks. This ensures the best user experience and optimizes network resources. Real-time traffic steering is a network-driven feature requiring no user intervention or additional device software. Ericsson also now supports access selection, a self-optimizing network (SON) feature enabling load-balancing between Wi-Fi and 3GPP networks to optimize the average user experience".
  
  See " Ericsson brings carrier-grade Wi-Fi to mobile broadband" - here.

PeerApp, EdgeCast and Limelight Create Open Framework for Content Delivery

PeerApp announced the formation of the "Content Service Extension (CSE) initiative in cooperation with global CDN service providers EdgeCast Networks and Limelight Networks .. Market trials for CSE-based products and services are scheduled to take place in the second half of 2013"

"The Content Service Extension initiative offers a service framework that will allow third party CDNs and Internet content services to extend their footprint deep into operator networks by leveraging operator infrastructure already in place. The goal of the initiative is to promote cooperation among network operators and Internet content ecosystem participants based on open interfaces and interoperability. It is open to broad participation by global CDN providers, network operators, content service providers and technology vendors". 

See "PeerApp Announces Content Service Extension Initiative to Foster Open Collaboration within Content Delivery Ecosystem" - here

Joint CDN/Caching Solution by Limelight and Qwilt

Qwilt  announced that "..Limelight Networks and Qwilt have partnered to develop solutions that will address the dramatic growth of online or “Over-the-top” (OTT) video content .. Limelight’s content delivery network (CDN) optimizes the long haul by delivering video content directly to the operator network. Qwilt’s next generation transparent caching platform, in turn, optimizes the short haul by caching and delivering content at the network edge, close to the consumer. The integration of Limelight and Qwilt solutions will streamline video delivery from the content provider origin servers all the way to the network edge, close to the consumer".

Similar announcements have been announced in the past: Oversi (now Allot) and Jet-Stream (here), PeerApp and EdgeCast (here)

See "Qwilt Partners With Limelight Networks, Inc. for Video Delivery Technology" - here.

PCC Deployments [252]: Telefonica [UK] Selected Tekelec for LTE

Tekelec announced that its Policy Server has been "..selected by Telefónica UK to provide the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) in the 3G and LTE core networks. The Policy Server will combine with Tekelec’s Subscriber Profile Repository to enable Telefónica UK to offer advanced digital lifestyle services for smartphones, tablets and other mobile data devices, while lowering network operating costs.

The Policy Server will help create new mobile data services and tariff plans using a variety of criteria, including volume of data, speed, time and applications. In addition, the operator could offer personalized loyalty programs, mobile advertising and time-based plans"

Telefónica UK has more than 22 million mobile customers, with 47 percent smartphone penetration as of March 2013. In the first quarter of 2013, 93 percent of new contract customers chose a smartphone.

Source: Telefonica 2013-Q1 Report 

See "Tekelec’s Market-Leading Policy Server Selected by Telefónica UK Limited for 3G and LTE Networks" - here.

NSN Video Optimization Reduces load by 25%

While the video optimization shows some weakness (Bytemobile, Allot),  Nokia Siemens Networks launched " a combined video optimization solution that delivers a high quality video experience while simultaneously reducing radio network loading by up to 25%. By combining the capabilities of Flexi Content Optimizer, policy management and new real-time congestion awareness, which is unique to Nokia Siemens Networks, operators can match video quality to each user's device.

Flexi Content Optimizer adjusts video content and re-scales video streaming to match the smartphone screen size. Users enjoy the best quality video that their smartphones and tablets can support, and because less data is transferred, there is less pressure on radio network capacity. This translates into more efficient use of radio network resources, and lower transmission costs and network investment.

Real-time congestion awareness enables the network to react instantly when a base station becomes heavily loaded. Video optimization then ensures that the operator’s most valuable subscribers in a specific location enjoy the best video quality".

See "Nokia Siemens Networks Liquid Broadband brings best ever video" - here.

NI Deployments [251]: MTN [Uganda] Selected JDSU/Arieso

JDSU announced that "MTN Uganda has selected its ariesoGEO platform and GEOperformance application to improve network quality and customer experience. MTN Uganda operates the country’s largest multi-vendor, multi-technology network" [JDSU acquired Arieso in March 2013 for $85 million in cash].

"JDSU’s customer-centric ariesoGEO solution will support MTN Uganda’s GSM and UMTS networks, and is ready to support the rollout of its LTE network that was launched on April 25, 2013. MTN Uganda has become the first operator in Uganda, and one of the very first in the region to successfully launch its 4G LTE network. ariesoGEO uses location intelligence to transform RAN planning and performance engineering. This increases operational efficiency and improves network performance, enhancing the customer experience".

At the end of Q1, 2013 MTN Uganda had 7.95M subscribers, if which 1.2M had data subscription. Data revenue increased 53,6% in local currency YoY.

Rami Farah [pictured], CTO, MTN Uganda said: “.. ariesoGEO will enable us to take a proactive approach to customer service, helping us react quickly to issues, while improving the quality of the overall network. As our network continues to grow, so too will customer expectations”.

See "MTN Uganda selects JDSU to support mobile network quality enhancements" - here.

[Plusnet]: "We’re big fans of traffic management and truly unlimited broadband"

 
Kelly Dorset, Head of Products and Digital Care, Plusnet [UK] explains in a post to lovemoney that ".. traffic management is often seen in a negative light with many in the industry, technology media and broadband users viewing it as an unnecessary slow down on services to stop users downloading lots of bandwidth. Here at Plusnet [here], that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re big fans of traffic management and truly unlimited broadband and we offer them both at the same time. Traffic management, otherwise known as traffic prioritisation, is applied to all Plusnet’s broadband products and ensures that real time applications like gaming and streaming don’t get interrupted when more than one person is downloading at the same time".

Plusnet traffic management policies are explained here and shown below ("the systems identify traffic and assign it to one of six priority queues; Titanium is the highest priority").

The ISP mentions that "Some applications not using the standard port may not be identified correctly by our system, as we use DPI to identify applications on the network. These applications may be classified as 'other' traffic in which case a lower priority may apply"

 

Plusnet Traffic management Policies

See also "[Ofcom] UK Traffic Management; P2P Might be Reduced by 99%" - here and "Plusnet: Troubles with Traffic Management System" - here.

"Plusnet prioritises certain types of traffic to ensure there is enough bandwidth, or data, available for each activity to be performed without interruption. Plusnet gives streaming games and video high priority to ensure they don't buffer or lag. For example, if you’re making a video call to relatives on the other side of the world, you don’t want the picture of your suntanned beloved to break up"

See "Why broadband traffic management is a good thing" - here.

Julius Jenachowski: Net Neutrality will be "an ongoing issue for the F.C.C. and for Congress"

 
Nicholas Thompson, interviewed Julius Jenachowski (pictured), former FCC chairman to The New Yorker, with a number of references to net neutrality:

• "But virtually every consumer has three alternative cable providers and two satellite providers. Many have access to a telephone provider like FiOS or A.T. & T. U-verse. It’s one of the reasons that we pushed so hard on net neutrality and keeping the pipes open for online video. That’s part of the competition story that will put downward pressure on prices. That will be an ongoing issue for the F.C.C. and for Congress.
   
• .. business and social norms around net neutrality are hardening in our society. It’s been two or three years since we adopted the net-neutrality rule, which proves that the doomsdayers were wrong. What the doomsdayers said was that, if the commission adopted the net-neutrality rule, it would halt investment in broadband networks, and that hasn’t happened. Instead, we’ve seen significant increases in investment throughout—in applications and services as well as networks. So one of the things that we’ve seen is that the net-neutrality rules on the books are pro-investment and pro-innovation. And those rules should stay on the books to make sure that the U.S. continues to lead the world in broadband.

See "Julius Jenachowski leaves the F.C.C." – here.

NI Deployments [250]: TIM [Brazil] Uses Commprove to Control LTE Performance

CommProve announced an ".. LTE network monitoring expansion contract in South America with TIM Brasil worth $1.2million .. TIM Brasil is deploying CommProve’s performance management platform, CommProve GSP, in its network. GSP captures statistical counters from across the monitored network and will then provide TIM with the aggregated information in a powerful data set for network management and optimization".

At the end of 2012, TIM Brasil had over 261M mobile subscribers. LTE service was launched in April 2013, and will be available in 2014 in all the 12 cities hosting the FIFA World Cup 2014 (see "TIM Brasil selects Nokia Siemens Networks to build 4G LTE network" - here). 

Source: TIM

FIFA 2014 Cities

Carlo Filangieri (pictured), CTO, TIM Brasil said: “We want to be able to provide to our customers a very good data service both on 4G and HSDPA+ so that they don’t need to worry about technology layers and commercial offers as our 4G service is at the same price as our 3G service. Not only for professional but for every kind of usage, the quality of the mobile data connection is a key factor for people that are demanding the same kind of experience they have as with fixed broadband. We need to strictly control the performance of our service; this is why we are extending CommProve’s monitoring technology to our new 4G network”

See "TIM Brasil Awards CommProve $1.2M LTE Network Monitoring Expansion Contract" - here.