Amdocs Expands PCRF Deployments in Deutsche Telekom; Explains Celcite/Actix Business

Quotes from Amdocs' Q1 2014 earning call, by Eli Gelman [pictured], Director, CEO and President of Amdocs Management Limited:

• "We have similar trends [expanding inside large MNO groups] with Deutsche Telekom on our policy product that we implemented. We signed a contract with their corporate and then we implemented in certain affiliates. And now I think it's about 6 or 7 affiliates already of Deutsche Telekom all across Europe are using the same for policy standardizing on Amdocs as a certain component of the business. But not less encouraging is the fact that you see some business that we announced in Luxembourg or in Telekom Austria, A1 in Austria and in other places. So you see kind of variety of different businesses"
   
• ".. the topic or the space of RAN optimization, radio access network optimization, have been on our agenda for quite some time. We just eventually managed to find the right assets and we completed this deals [see "Amdocs Acquires Actix ($120M)", here, and Amdocs Acquires Celcite for $129M" - now reported as "cash consideration of $141 million", here]
    
• The nature of these deals are relatively different from the one you expect on BSS transformation or even OSS transformation project. Usually, each one of the deals are relatively small. Could be in the $1 million, $2 million, $3 million each. Usually, the tendency is to augment it with addition projects. Now in some cases, you will see a company streamlining around an Actix product, for example, for 3G optimization, 3G network optimization. And they will then pay a different or subsequent license for the 4G and then LTE. That could be something different from small serves and different technologies. Same goes about the regions. It usually could be pure segments of market or subsets of markets. And that's kind of the trend with the Actix product.
   
• With the Celcite, it's similar but on the services side. So usually, we provide optimization services around Celcite tools and now we're combining it with the Actix infrastructure product but we'll basically offer the services to a certain market or submarket for a certain technology, sometimes certain network equipment providers. 

See "Amdocs Limited Management Discusses Q1 2014 Results - Earnings Call Transcript", by SeekingAlpah, here.

Verizon Acquires EdgeCast; Will it Serve DT and TeliaSonera?

  

Verizon announced a "definitive agreement under which the company will acquire EdgeCast, an industry leader in content delivery networks. Verizon Digital Media Services will integrate EdgeCast complementary capabilities to further improve and increase its ability to meet the exponential growth in online digital media content, as well as broaden its portfolio of site acceleration services for digital enterprises.

EdgeCast has more than 6,000 accounts and serves some of the world’s leading Web brands for global media delivery and acceleration services". 

Nevertheless, EdgeCast also have carriers as customers: Deutsche Telekom [here], TeliaSonera [here] and Telin [here]. I wonder what will happen here. PeerApp, EdgeCast's caching partner may enjoy this as well (see "PeerApp and EdgeCast Offer Operators Joint CDN/Caching Solution" - here).

See "Verizon Plans to Acquire EdgeCast Networks" - here.

[Analysys Mason]: Business Models for Application-based Pricing

As it seems that the FCC is considering more flexible Net Neutrality rules (see "FCC Chairman re-defines Net Neutrality: 'we're going to see a two-sided world'" - here), it is time to evaluate the business models for the relations between the customers, carriers and OTT content providers.

A new report by Ronan de Renesse, Principal Analyst, Glen Ragoonanan, Senior Analyst, Eva Weidinger [pictured], Research Analyst, and Anil Rao, Analyst, Analysys Mason on Application Based Pricing, finds that "The fact that consumers generally do not pay for content and apps is a fundamental consideration when deploying ABP solutions and exploring the underlying business models".

  

"Operators need to consider innovative tariffs to maintain ARPU and remain competitive as mobile data prices and per-user spending on digital content decline. Application-based pricing (ABP) is the inclusion of third-party content and services (applications) as part of tariff structures. ABP helps operators and over-the-top (OTT) players to further monetise consumer demand for popular apps on mobile devices. Apps drive smartphone adoption, and generate mobile data traffic, which in turn generates mobile data revenue for operators"

".. three typical business models, which are based on examples of exclusivity agreements:

• Fixed rate: the operator pays the OTT player a fixed rate, as per the Deutsche Telekom and Spotify agreement [see "DT to Offer Zero-Rate Video Calls, Messaging, File sharing and Music Services" - here]
   
• Revenue-sharing: the OTT pays the operator a share of revenue, as per Telefónica Digital and Aurasma‟s partnership.
   
• No-one pays, as per agreements between Facebook and dtac Thailand (part of Telenor), [see "Facebook Offers Free Messaging Through 18 MNOs" - here] as well as SingTel and WhatsApp".

See "Application-based pricing: opportunities, business models and case studies" - here.

O2 Germany Follows DT w/DSL Caps (100-300GB)

Deutsche Telekom's decision to implement data caps on its DSL service (see "DT Implements Data Caps (but Excludes its Own Video and Voice Services)" - here and "DT CEO: "We cannot Explain our DSL Throttling Policy"" - here) opened the door for the other providers.

Michael Filtz reports to ZDNet that "O2 Germany has announced [here, German] that starting in July 2014 it will begin implementing its first national broadband data caps As part of the company's proposed 'Fair Flat rate' plan:

• If DSL users on the company's 'All-in M' and 'All-in L' plans exceed 300GB for three straight months, their speed will be limited to 2Mbps when they use more than 300GB of data again on the fourth month. Additionally, the throttling will continue in subsequent months if users continue to break the 300GB limit. Normal download speeds for these plans are up to 16 Mbps and 50Mbps, respectively.
   
• And users on the budget 'All-in S' plan can expect the throttling to kick in much sooner: they'll have a 100GB cap each month, where their speeds will be reduced from 8Mbps to 2Mbps, regardless of whether they've exceeded the threshold in the previous month".

See "O2 bringing in broadband data caps in 2014 in Germany, power users face throttling" - here.

EU Checks DT, Orange and Telefonica Use of DPI for Traffic Discrimination

It's action time for the EU!

While its stand on Net Neutrality is not clear (see "EU: Traffic Management, Pay for QoS - are all fine!" - here Vs. "What does the EU Want to Know about Traffic Management?" - here) it decided not to wait any more and look for the use of DPI by leading carriers as a mean to discriminate services.
 
Jennifer Baker reports to Computerworld that the "The European Union's top antitrust watchdog has carried out unannounced raids on Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom and Orange. The European Commission is concerned that the three companies may have violated E.U. competition rules prohibiting the abuse of a dominant market position, it said Thursday .. The Commission is understood to be looking into network operators' use of deep packet inspection, a technique that allows them to identify the type of content that runs through their networks and allows them to throttle traffic from particularly demanding applications such as video streaming or VoIP calls".

An EU memo explains that "The European Commission can confirm that on 9 July 2013 Commission officials initiated unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of telecommunications companies active in the provision of Internet connectivity in several Member States" (here).

See "EU competition watchdog raids Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom and Orange" - here.

Net Neutrality Debate Returns to Germany

The political debate over Net Neutrality in Germany started 3 years ago (see "Net Neutrality Discussion in Germany (II) - DT Position" - here), and has been quiet since then. Recently, Deutsche Telecom created some partnerships with OTT providers (see "DT to Offer Zero-Rate Video Calls, Messaging, File sharing and Music Services" - here) while introducing a new DSL throttling policy (here).

This may have been too much (remember the KPN case? - here).

Iain Morris reports to Telecom Engine that "Germany’s government is planning to introduce new ‘net neutrality’ [see below and here, German] legislation that would prevent internet service providers like Deutsche Telekom from treating content providers differently in terms of connection speeds .. The rules have been proposed by Philipp Roesler [pictured], Germany’s economy minister, who is set to present them before Germany’s government at the end of the current legislative period .. If approved by both the upper and lower houses of parliament, the legislation would allow the Federal Network Agency, Germany’s telecoms regulator, to penalize abuses of so-called ‘net neutrality’ – the principle that all internet traffic be treated equally and fairly by network operators".

See also "Internetanbieter müssen alle Daten in gleicher Weise übermitteln" - here.

 
See "German minister proposes net neutrality rules to rein in Deutsche Telekom: report" - here.

DT CEO: "We cannot Explain our DSL Throttling Policy"

Ofir Dor interviewed Rene Obermann (pictured), CEO of Deutsche Telekon, to Calcalist (here, Hebrew) who is visiting Israel this week. Mr. Obermann provided the following insights:

• VoIP and messaging OTT services (see "Deutsche Telekom CEO: OTT providers should pay for High Quality" - here) - "We changed our approach and decided to cooperate with OTTs while keep competing with them. The communication environment should be open - nobody is controlling the market anymore" (see "DT to Offer Zero-Rate Video Calls, Messaging, File sharing and Music Services"- here).
   
• Throttling DSL speeds (see "Will DT Throttle DSL Speeds for Exceeding Quota?" - here) - "Mr. Obermann lost his patient", the reporter says. "I don't know how to contain this matter. The fact is that we have a big increase in internet traffic in Germany, and we have to create price differentiation. We simply cannot provide 150GB download volume for 30 Euro, so we decided to offer heavy users a slightly more expensive service plan. We may have mistaken by emphasizing the speed throttling aspect. No matter how many times I explained that, once this Genie was out of the bottle we could not put it back in" 

DT to Use Octoshape Video Streaming Technology

Deutsche Telekom’s Business Development and Innovation (BDI) in partnership with Octoshape, announced a "..new Deutsche Telekom cloud-based video solution, introduced as “LiveStream Perform,” powered by Octoshape. The new service provides the best quality video distribution of over-the-top (OTT) content via fixed and mobile broadband networks.Powered by Octoshape’s streaming technology, LiveStream Perform is an entirely new way of experiencing live and on-demand video content. The patented technologies employ throughput optimization methods that enable TV-like playback quality over broadband networks worldwide. In addition, the suite of multicast technologies enables scale and efficiency for operators and provides predictable business models for broadcasters". 

LiveStream Perform splits the initial stream source into streamlets, which are duplicated and transmitted across multiple paths in the Internet. In that way, if a link becomes congested, the content can still be automatically and securely delivered through a less congested link. In addition to the high levels of quality this affords, there are no constraints on the number or location of viewers.

See "Deutsche Telekom Announces New Multi-Device OTT Video Acceleration Platform LiveStream Perform With Octoshape" - 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.

DT Implements Data Caps (but Excludes its Own Video and Voice Services)

 
Last month's question - "Will DT Throttle DSL Speeds for Exceeding Quota?" (here) has been answered: Yes.

Deutsche Telekom announced quota limits on its fixed service, with speed reduction penalty (or top-up option). Nevertheless, it excludes its own video and voice services - and explains why it does not violate Neutrality.

"Given the rapid growth of data .. As of 2 May 2013, a monthly quota of 75GB will apply for ‘Call & Surf’ plans with a download connection speed of up to 16Mbps, 200GB for speeds of up to 50Mbps, 300GB for up to 100Mbps and 400GB for packages with a connection of up to 200Mbps .. If the volume limit is reached, a uniform reduction in Internet bandwidth to 384 Kbit/s will be applied" 

Michael Hagspihl (pictured), Marketing Director, explained that "Users of "Entertain" service will not count against the volume contained in the tariff .. so we are sure that they will not suddenly sit in front of a black screen ..  Also Voice over the telecom connection is not counted .. Both services are, unlike Internet services, managed services that are produced in a high quality and secure and paid for separately by the customer. Regular Internet services are not subject to discrimination by the "best-effort" principle - offering as much as possible with the resources available". 

   

See "Telekom ändert Tarifstruktur fürs Festnetz" ("Telecom tariff structure changes for the fixed network") - here.

DT Launched CDN/Cloud Optimization Solution; Powered by Cedexis

   

Deutsche Telekom’s Business Development and  Innovation (BDI) announced a new CDN and cloud delivery optimization solution comprising two services  called "NetAnalyze" and "NetOptimize" These services enable the evaluation, development,  and automation of multi-vendor hosting and delivery solutions (and hybrids of each) .. The new service duo was developed in partnership with Cedexis, a global expert in multi-cloud engineering: 

• NetAnalyze works by providing an examination of how the end user experience (whether accessed via mobile or traditional mechanisms) is delivered at any particular moment across  a multitude of platforms. This is accomplished by aggregating around 1 billion measurements  generated by users located in more than 34,000 networks around the globe. 

• NetOptimize  works by selecting the optimal delivery mechanism for the end user in real time based on  both the performance information collected in NetAnalyze, and the business criteria of the  content owner. The new service duo was developed in partnership with Cedexis, a global  expert in multi-cloud engineering.  

See "Deutsche Telekom Announces New Multi-Platform Performance Optimization Solution" - here. 

Will DT Throttle DSL Speeds for Exceeding Quota?

Sean Buckley (pictured) reported to FierceTelecom that Deutsche Telekom "is going to start throttling DSL speeds on users who go over a set bandwidth limit, according to rumors reported on a telecom blog .. The telco's 16 Mbps Call and Surf or Entertain speed package will incorporate a 75 GB cap. It will also implement a 300 GB limit on Fiber-100 and Fiber-200-400 users .. Deutsche Telekom said that it is considering throttling excessive users, but has not revealed any new tariffs, adding that they will "make an appropriate announcement".
See also "DSL, wie in DrosSeL?" - here (German).

See "Rumor mill: Deutsche Telekom to begin throttling DSL users" - here.

Safer Internet Day - Operators can Help!

Today, February 5th, is the Safer Internet Day (SID) - "organised by Insafe in February of each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world" (here).

See also "EU: Net Neutrality is about Transparency; Favor of Parental Control" - here and "Deutsche Telekom Group supports Child Online Safety Initiative" - here.

The above statement from DT shows that operators may help parents make the internet safer for children. For example, they may provide network based parental control services. There is even a revenue opportunity associated with the service.

During the years, I covered several such deployments as you may see in the following table (taken from my recent report - "The Broadband Traffic Management 2013 Deployments Directory", available here.

Operator	Country	Type	Vendor	System	Post
Virgin Mobile	France	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/12/parental-control-deployments209.html
Coriolis	France	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/12/parental-control-deployments209.html
China Telecom	China	Mobile	Live Mobile	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/11/parental-control-deployments-201-china.html
ETB	Colombia	Fixed	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/09/parental-controlcontent-security.html
SFR	France	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/07/parental-control-deployments-161-sfr.html
VimpelCom	Russia	ISP	Symantec Corporation	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/03/vassecurity-deployments-135-vimpelcom.html
Sri Lanka Telecom	Sri Lanka	Fixed	Opetnet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/03/vassecurity-deployments-132-sri-lanka.html
StarHub	Singapore	Mobile	Mobixell Networks	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/02/tmsecurity-deployments-122-starhub.html
MTN	Nigeria	Mobile	AdaptiveMobile	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/11/dpisecurity-deployments-102-mtn-nigeria.html
Turkcell Superonline	Turkey	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/07/dpi-deployments-80-turkcelturkcell.html
Turkcell	Turkey	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/07/dpi-deployments-80-turkcelturkcell.html
CyberOne	Australia	Cable	ContentKeeper Technologies	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/07/dpi-deployments-77-cyberone-australia.html
Vodafone	UK	Mobile	Blue Coat Systems	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/06/vodafone-uk-web-traffic-filtered-by.html
Vodafone	Turkey	Mobile	Optenet	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/06/dpi-deployments-74-vodafone-turkey-uses.html
NTT Plala	Japan	ISP	Cisco	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/06/dpi-deployments-73-ntt-plala-deploys.html
TalkTalk	UK	ISP	Huawei	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2011/05/dpi-deployments-68-talktalk-uk-launches.html
Amtrak	USA	Wi-Fi	N/A	Parental Control	http://broabandtrafficmanagement.blogspot.com/2010/09/dpiqos-deployments-26-amtrak-blocks.html

CDN Deployments [190]: DT Uses EdgeCast for Application Delivery Network

    

Deutsche Telekom International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS), the international wholesale arm of Deutsche Telekom AG, announced " .. the launch of Application Delivery Network. The new service is capable of substantially improving the performance and throughput of web applications and the provision of dynamic content. Application Delivery Network (ADN), based on the cutting-edge CDN technology of EdgeCast, is a multi-layered, easy-to-use service that combines best practice optimizations with core technology refinements".

See "EdgeCast Shows 77% Performance Improvement w/Integrated Google’s PageSpeed" - here and "EdgeCast Announced "Licensed CDN"; Deployed by Pacnet and AT&T(?)" - here.

Source: ICSS

"With ADN, ICSS complements its CDN Solution portfolio, which is based on a global footprint. It supports content delivery requirements, be it caching, multi-platform streaming, premium storage, content security and in-depth analytics. Value-added services and the web-based, self-provisioning portal complete the CDN offering"

See "Deutsche Telekom launches Application Delivery Network" - here.

DT to Offer Zero-Rate Video Calls, Messaging, File sharing and Music Services

Does Deutsche Telekom execute its "two-sided business model" - in which an OTT service provider pays for QoS (here and here)? Will Net Neutrality still be relevant when the EU will complete all its studies and consultations?

The German carrier does not wait and announced recently (during IFA 2012, Berlin) two new services for its local subscribers:

• joyn - "Service available to Telekom customers from December, Chat and send files free of charge on all smartphone tariffs, Integrated in many smartphones in the future and available immediately as a free app for iOS and Android .. The Chat and Send File functions are free of charge for Deutsche Telekom customers who already have a calling plan that includes a data or text message flat rate. In contrast to other messenger services, the volume of data used is not deducted from the volume included in the flat rate".
   
• Spotify - "As of October 2012, customers will be able to listen to more than 18 million music titles via their mobile phone, tablet and PC - both online offline. What's more, the online usage of the Spotify streaming service will not have any impact on the data volume specified in the respective Deutsche Telekom tariff". 

Niek Jan van Damme (DT), Gerrit Meier (Spotify) and
Dr. Ingo Hofacker (DT) during the joint press conference at IFA  

See "Deutsche Telekom launches joyn communication service" - here and "Here's the music: Deutsche Telekom offers unlimited music streaming with Spotify" - here.

[F&S]: MSSP Market to Reach $15.6B in 2016

A new research by Martha Vazquez (pictured), Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan concludes that "Enterprises are becoming increasingly exposed to organized cyber crime rings and for many businesses, the complexity of threats have compelled them to turn to managed security service providers (MSSPs). These types of external service providers enable organizations to maintain strong security while improving business efficiencies and minimizing costs".

"Although there are many benefits, MSSP vendors are typically challenged when trying to demonstrate the possible savings accrued through working with a trusted MSSP. MSSPs have to educate end users about the advantages of outsourcing security. In response to the escalating demand for broader platform support and more flexibility, MSSPs should also provide a wide range of new security technologies and enhanced security portfolios"

"..Analysis from Frost & Sullivan , Analysis of the Global Managed Security Service Providers Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $6.66 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach $15.63 billion in 2016 .. The Frost & Sullivan study covers local, regional and global MSSPs such as Nuspire, IBM, Verizon, Dell Secureworks, Solutionary, BT Global Services, Deutche Telecom, MegaPath, and Windstream (formerly PAETEC)”.

See "Rising Complexity of Cyber Crimes Puts MSSPs under the Spotlight, Finds Frost & Sullivan" - here.

DT: QoS for VoLTE Available - Needs PCRF

 
Interesting presentation by Roland Schott, Project Manager and Architect, Deutsche Telekom, made during LTE World Summit (Barcelona, May 2012).

Brought by Zahid Ghadialy, editor of the 3G and 4G Wireless Blog.

One of the conclusions is that "PCRF is required to handle QoS on the mobile access link"

European Telcos do not Like Regulation and OTT!

Surprised by the title of this post? You shouldn't be. We have seen this many times, and in this year's MWC was no exception (besides, maybe, the language used by the Mr. Bernabe):

• Telecom Italia: Mike Dano reports to Fierce Wireless: "The CEO of Telecom Italia, Franco Bernabe (pictured), used his keynote appearance here at the Mobile World Congress trade show to rally against over-the-top players, arguing that OTT vendors are sucking resources away from wireless operators .. OTT players hinder competition by relying on non-standardized technologies ..  such players also don't understand mobile, and therefore cause unintended problems like overloading mobile networks with unnecessary signaling .. This imposes a big burden on mobile operators .. average revenues per user in Europe have decreased from 26 euros in 2006 to 20 euros in 2011--at a time when operators are investing heavily in their networks to deal with traffic generated in part by OTT services".
  
  See " Telecom Italia CEO highlights 'burdens' created by OTT players" - here.

• Deutsche Telekom - Jeff Barak report to Amdocs Blog that "Deutsche Telekom’s Obermann (pictured) pointed out that in this new cloud era, ”best effort” connectivity won’t be enough – for example, medical cloud services can’t be allowed to fail – and operators will play an important role in providing end-to-end quality of service. The regulator, Obermann insisted, has to accept that non-discriminating traffic management is essential for delivering real quality of service".
  
  See "Who’s going to get left behind? (Live from MWC 2012)" - here. 

• TeliaSonera - Michelle Donegan reports to Light Reading "TeliaSonera said it will charge an extra fee for using free over-the-top VoIP services on its network and throttle bandwidth for users who try to use these services without paying. In an interview with Light Reading TV, Tommy Ljunggren (pictured), TeliaSonera's VP of system development, explained the operator's new strategy and pricing policy for OTT VoIP services. TeliaSonera's message is clear: If you want to use those services on our network, you have to pay; if you don't, those services won't work".
   See "TeliaSonera Chokes Free VoIP Services" - here; This follows TeliaSonera's subsidiary in Spain, Yoigo, recent action - see " Procera's DPI Enables Yoigo VoIP's Monetization" - here.

Ovum & Heavy Reading Analysts Summarize the Broadband Traffic Management Congress

 

Steven Hartley (pictured)  Practice Leader, Telco Strategy Ovum and Graham Finnie, Chief Analyst, Heavy Reading, published their impressions from the recent Broadband Traffic Management Congress (here) held recently in London.  

Steven found it was "refreshing to see examples of how operators are approaching the commercial aspects of managing traffic" rather than a vendor solution show, as in previous years. The main trends were:

• plans tiered by quality of service (QoS) were no longer being touted. The burden of proof required to justify spending on these approaches has always concerned us particularly in the consumer market .. Operators are instead opting for a “gold, silver, and bronze” approach aligned with applications, meaning that the benefits of QoS are aimed at the content provider, which pays for an optimal end-user experience
   
• Deutsche Telekom, Pakistani WiMAX operator PTCL, Du, Orange Group, and Turkcell extolled the virtues of customer segmentation for creating tailored packages
   
• There was a consensus among vendors (with a clear vested interest in promoting their tools’ sophistication) that the future will see operators offering highly tailored packages to end users and content providers. However, this view was somewhat tempered by the operators at the event, which spoke of simplicity and clarity as the key means to win customers (Belgacom, Orange)

Graham Finnie (pictured) also saw "It wasn’t just theoretical speculation—speaker after speaker set out real, deployed examples" and the focus on applications - "Top of the list for now is the use of DPI and related mechanisms to identify social networking apps—especially Facebook—and give them special treatment such as zero-rating or a lower price point (Turkcell, Du).

Other trends:

• top-ups, apps-oriented turbo boosts, and short-term upgrades are all increasingly popular
   
• a strong desire to gain a better understanding of the behaviour of subscribers and applications (Bell Canada) - 2012 looks like being a good year for analytics (see here).

See "Traffic management gets less technical" [Ovum, here] - here and "Broadband Traffic Management: It’s All About The Package" [Heavy Reading, published by Allot, here]

DT Believes in "Two-Sided" Business Model - OTT to Pay for QoS

  

More than a year ago, Deutsche Telecom's CEO, René Obermann, said that "OTT providers should pay for High Quality" (here). Last week, during its presentation at the Broadband Traffic Management Event, Markus Freikamp, DT's head of international mobile wholesale business models, maintained this position - although it seems that it will take some time to build.

Michelle Donegan  report to Light Reading that Mr. Freikamp said that "the operator was targeting the so-called "two-sided" business model. That means, whoever puts the load on the networks should be the one paying .. We believe in that model and believe the industry will change that way .. It's not here today, maybe not tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow .. There's more confidence today on delivering QoS on fixed than on mobile networks".

No word on Net Neutrality.

See "DT Wants Cash From Content Owners" - here.