broadband strategies handbook.pdf - Khazar University

has to purchase additional download volume or the subscriber’s speed isreduced or, in the worst-case scenario, service is terminated for that month.Some operators establish different caps for domestic and internationaltraffic. Another practice is to control the use of high-bandwidth applicationsor access to traffic-intensive sites by restricting or degrading service.This practice has been banned in some countries as a violation of networkneutrality. Providers have been known to “throttle” service by limiting thesubscriber’s bandwidth when they have exceeded data caps or tried toaccess traffic-intensive sites.These network management practices have been contentious since theyare often covered by the “small print” of customer contracts and many usersare not aware of them. In an effort to alleviate consumer concerns aboutservice quality, some governments monitor and compile reports on servicequality. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Bahrain,for example, publishes data on wireline broadband performance (Bahrain,Telecommunications Regulatory Authority 2011). The TRA measuresupload and download speeds for different broadband packages, domainname system (DNS) response (time taken in milliseconds to translate adomain name to its IP address), and ping (an echo request sent to a server totest latency). In other countries, although governments do not publish qualityof service reports, they offer sites where consumers can check theirspeed. 46SpectrumOne of the biggest constraints on wireless broadband deployment and usageis the availability of spectrum. Some countries have yet to allocate mobilebroadband spectrum, have not allocated certain frequencies, or have notallocated sufficient spectrum.Although the number of frequency bands in which mobile broadbandoperates has increased, not every technology operates in every band.Therefore, by not licensing certain bands, countries prevent the availabilityof some mobile broadband technologies. Another issue is that even slightdifferences in frequency assignments can make a difference in equipmentcompatibility, affecting prices and roaming. Growing mobile broadbanddemands are placing increasing pressure on spectrum availability. Providersuse several techniques to increase capacity, including splitting cells,upgrading to more efficient technology, and offloading some uses ontoother networks like Wi-Fi. However, there may come a point where technologycannot fix the capacity shortage and additional spectrum is required.Some countries have already begun examining how to use the variousbands identified for broadband, including the so-called “digital dividend”240 Broadband Strategies Handbook