Five Things You Need to Know About Policy & DPI
2:30 PM -- LAS VEGAS -- International CTIA WIRELESS 2010 -- According to our resident experts, Heavy Reading analysts Graham Finnie and Patrick Donegan, here are the five key takeaways from our Policy, DPI & the Mobile Packet Core event here at the show:
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1) The telecom industry has done a terrible job of explaining its side of the story on net neutrality to the people who count -- the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . Technology vendors need to better explain the potential new services and innovations they are developing, for wireless networks in particular, and service providers need to stop hiding their use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and policy-based technology, both to manage congestion in their networks and to deliver new services. As Fred Campbell, president and CEO of Wireless Communications Association International (WCA) , said in the day's closing session, the potential for innovation and new opportunities should be at the heart of the FCC's debate, and it's not.
2) The biggest unanswered question? How do you define "reasonable?" If the FCC is going to use this as a guideline for how policy and DPI can be used to manage networks, doesn't the industry deserve some clearer explanation of where the line is drawn, before they step over it? (See FCC Sets Sail on Internet Rulemaking .)
3) The debate also continues on whether it makes more sense to concentrate DPI and policy control at the core of a network in a centralized fashion, or distribute it at the edge of the network. Each approach has a contribution to make toward greater efficiency and its offsetting costs.
4) Handling video traffic using policy and DPI remains a priority. Video has the greatest potential to swamp a network, particularly a wireless access network, but also tremendous potential as a new generator of revenue.
5) One point of agreement: Service providers and their technology vendors need to give consumers more control over policy and how it is applied to them or used to control their services. Informed users can not only reap the benefits of intelligent network control and operation but also play their part in enabling services more tailored to their needs. "Consumers in control" approaches also do much to alleviate privacy concerns.
