Analys is & commentary for
decis ion makers in the telecoms industry
Broadband Internet
access
What does Europe actually need?
HELIO
SA
DVISER
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Europe is preparing to roll out
high speed broadband to
every citizen
The EU is assuming that fibre
is needed to support user
demand; but is it?
Fibre will clearly be used
where it is economic to do so
Executive summary The European Commission's Digital Agenda sets a political target of
achieving symmetric, 100 Mbit/s broadband connectivity near-universally
with 30 Mbit/s being available to remaining, outlying areas. Individual
Member States are also setting targets for broadband connectivity: in the
UK, for example, the Digital Britain programme is aiming to deliver at least
2 Mbit/s of broadband Internet connectivity universally across the country
by 2012, with a target of achieving next generation broadband to 90% of
the population by 2017.
But what are the motivations for delivering such high bandwidths and is
there any substance behind the need for a symmetrical 30 Mbit/s
connection? This paper examines the evidence for demand for high
bandwidth access to determine what kind of Internet connection is
realistically required by everyday Internet users over the next 5 to 10
years.
The EU is currently promoting a policy which assumes that only fibre
connections can deliver the type of connectivity which meets user demands
and that mobile or other wireless solutions will fill in the void where fibre
is not available. However, before significant investment is made, it is
important to understand whether user demands can be met through other
means and in particular whether there is a more balanced approach in
which all technologies have a role to play. Indeed, is there any need for
Governments to invest in the roll-out of (fibre) services at all? Or is it
feasible that the necessary connectivity could be provided at zero cost to
European Union Member States, and more widely, through a more reasoned
understanding of bandwidth demand? Without knowing users’ Internet
demand profiles, it is impossible to make informed decisions to these
questions.
Our findings are that:
• A download speed of 10 Mbit/s is more than sufficient for the majority
of current and future domestic Internet users. In many cases,
connection speeds significantly less than this will satiate the demand
from most user types.
• Streaming of HD video is the thirstiest future application and is likely
to become the prime driver of Internet traffic volumes.
• For some gaming applications, low latency is required if gameplay is
not to be degraded; however gaming is not likely to be a key driver of
future bandwidth demand. Other than this, there are no specific
latency issues for domestic users.
• Symmetrical connections are generally not necessary, even for those
who generate a lot of content which they wish to upload. Even for
gaming, it is latency which needs to be kept low − symmetry is
unnecessary as long as connection speeds are reasonable.
Where fibre is needed (e.g. for large industrial organisations), the market
will obviously address it. Equally, it seems unreasonable that investment
decisions should be taken just to satisfy gaming when the majority of other
user demands can be economically addressed by other technologies. Whilst
recognising the potential advantages of using fibre to deliver Internet
1
connectivity in areas where it is cost-effective to roll out, in many other
areas, the high speed, high bandwidth, symmetric, low latency services
provided by fibre are unnecessary and may prove to be an expensive means
of fulfilling users’ Internet connectivity expectations.
Both mobile and satellite broadband are fully able to serve the majority of
everyday Internet users. Using satellite for delivery of HD video content,
there is little to no need for fibre connectivity for many domestic users as
other means of Internet delivery (ADSL, mobile and satellite itself) are
more than sufficient.
A policy which promotes fibre as the only means of Internet delivery for all
users may therefore be imposing unnecessary costs both to those providing
financial support to roll-out and eventually, and inevitably, to end users.
The use of existing (ADSL and satellite) infrastructure can economically
deliver the necessary bandwidth to those users who are not currently within
easy reach of fibre. A more balanced approach, which recognises the
strengths and weaknesses of the different delivery platforms and the
differing demands of Internet users would therefore be a much more
pragmatic, realistic and cost-effective way forward.
But fibre is not necessary
everywhere
A mix of other (existing)
technologies can do the job
more efficiently
2
Average Internet connection
speeds are typically only half
the advertised rate
ICT, and in particular
broadband, is crucial to
European economic recovery
Introduction According to UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom[1], in 2008, the
domestic Internet download speed experienced across the UK averaged
3.6 Mbit/s, which was half the advertised speed of 7.2 Mbit/s. From data
produced by the OECD[2], the average advertised download speed for a
basket of 20 Western European countries by the end of 2009 was 20 Mbit/s.
It is therefore likely that the average speed of connections across these
countries is nearer 10 Mbit/s and in less developed countries, the
connection speed is significantly worse (Turkey, for example, has an
average advertised connection speed of less than 5 Mbit/s).
It is worth noting that in some of these countries, broadband Internet is
delivered via fibre and this will tend to skew the average figures higher. In
Denmark, for example, 10% of connections are on fibre and in Sweden this
rises to 21%. However, in many EU countries, the percentage of connections
using fibre is still well below one. Further, these averages do not take into
account the many millions who have no broadband Internet access at all.
The chart below shows Internet connection speeds for a range of countries
across Europe and more widely.
Europe has become the world leader in broadband Internet, with 114
million subscribers, it is the largest world market and penetration rates are
rising swiftly. Half of all European households and more than 80% of
European businesses have a fixed broadband connection, three quarters of
them with average download speeds above 2 Mbit/s.
ICT, and in particular the broadband Internet, is a crucial component of the
European economic recovery plan, that has allocated 347 million Euro to
speed up rural broadband from a total of 1 Billion Euro earmarked to
encourage the growth of industry[3]. ICT accounts for half of the rise in EU
productivity and available high-speed broadband is key to new jobs, new
skills, new markets and cutting costs. It is essential to businesses, public
3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Japan
Korea
Finland
Sweden
France
Netherlands
Portugal
Canada
Poland
Norw
ay
Austria
Belgium
Iceland
Germ
any
EU Average
USA
Denmark
Italy
Luxembourg
Hungary
Slovak Republic
United Kingdom
Switzerland
New Zealand
Ireland
Turkey
Australia
Czech Republic
Spain
Greece
Mbps
Typical Internet connection speeds
services and to making the modern economy work and it’s therefore
important that Europe gets any future investments right.
The question remains, however, what is the actual need for broadband
connectivity for a typical European citizen? Clearly there will be differences
between users, wherein some will only need connections for everyday
electronic services (such as eGovernment and eBanking) where as others
may want more for gaming, file transfer and on-demand video. It is also
worth bearing in mind that although there may be an element of latent
demand which would mean that if higher bandwidths were more widely
available, the bandwidth might get rapidly filled, this is not part of the
need for bandwidth but is a side-effect of its availability.
Our analysis of the different needs of Internet users is based around
defining a number of specific user types and examining the needs of these
users. In making this assessment we have focused on four specific technical
parameters, chosen as they represent the major differences between the
various potential technological solutions which may be used to deliver
Internet connections. The parameters we have focused on are:
• Speed of connection − the speed with which a user can connect to the
Internet. This is traditionally measured as the speed from the Internet
to the user.
• Total bandwidth consumed − this is the amount of Internet bandwidth
used by a single user over a one month period, some technologies tend
to cap this as their overall capacity is limited.
• Symmetry of connection − some technologies provide a slower
connection from the user to the Internet than from the Internet to the
user, some are equal in both directions.
• Latency − this is the length of time that it takes for data to travel to
and from the Internet from the user’s perspective; again some
technologies do better on this than others.
Given the fact that the various information sources for each of the user
types do not necessarily identify specific results with respect to these
parameters, instead of providing a specific numerical result, we have
sought to group requirements into bands.
These bands have been defined as follows:
We have analysed demand for
a number of different types
of Internet users
4
Low Medium High Very High
Speed of
connection Up to 2 Mbit/s Between 2 and 10
Mbit/s
Between 10 and
30 Mbit/s
Above 30
Mbit/s
Low Medium High Very High
Total bandwidth
consumed
Less than 1
Gbyte/month
Between 1 and 10
Gbyte/month
Between 10 and
100 Gbyte/month Unlimited
Low Medium High Very High
Susceptibility to
latency
Able to withstand latency over 500
milliSeconds
Able to withstand latency between 100 and 500
milliSeconds
Latency must be below 100
milliSeconds
[not used]
We have drawn on existing
data. Our results represent a
‘poll of polls’
Symmetry can be assessed by considering the upload speeds which users
require, compared with the download speeds they demand and as such, we
have simply considered whether or not symmetry is required; there is no
sliding scale of requirement.
The values we have assigned within the different parameters are useful in
differentiating on the grounds of system capability and availability and
represent a reasonable reflection of current and future demand. As
examples, the charts below show typical Internet usage caps for a selection
of countries across the world.
Our work has not sought to undertake significant new technical nor
economic analysis but has analysed and updated information drawn from
the wide library of existing, published material available concerning
Europe. As such, our results represent a ‘poll of polls’ and thus should be
both representative and reflective of typical user requirements.
5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Canada
Iceland
Australia
New Zealand
Portugal
Average
Belgium
Luxembourg
United Kingdom
Ireland
Turkey
Slovak Republic
Spain
Hungary
GByte/month
Typical Internet usage caps
User profiles
General
In undertaking our analysis we have specifically attempted to exclude the
effects of latent demand. That is to say that we have excluded the impact
that availability of Internet services has on people’s usage profiles. There is
evidence to suggest[4] that as people are provided with higher bandwidth
Internet connections, they begin to use and explore services which require
this bandwidth, whereas if they are not provided with it, they remain
content with the services they do have access to and do not seek to expand
their usage. It is questionable what real economic or social value is gained
by satiating latent demand. We have therefore focused on the real demand
associated with providing users with those services they would request, but
are not currently provided, rather than the potential demand which might
arise had they access to greater bandwidth.
Approach
It is impossible to include all usage profiles within a ‘typical’ set of Internet
user types as each of us has a specific set of websites and services that we
will be likely to access, based on experience of Internet content and our
own specific need for information and entertainment. However, the usage
types we have defined represent broad categories with which everyone
will, to a greater or lesser extent, identify.
As the Internet increasingly becomes a medium over which various types of
content are distributed, it is envisaged that, during our leisure time,
certain activities such as streaming high quality video into the home will
become routine and begin to homogenise domestic Internet quality of
service demands. However, it is possible to profile particular user groups
whose on-line behaviour may lead to significantly different characteristic
service demand profiles.
It is therefore important to consider the type and mix of online services
that people use and thus, in turn, trends in on-line behaviour and service
demand. Once defined, these usage categories can be readily converted
into quantified user demand for given download speeds, symmetry, latency
and aggregate demand.
Several ways of profiling Internet users have been developed to date
including the Neilson NetRatings system[5]. These have mainly been used to
determine marketing opportunities for companies selling products and
services online. Indeed much work has been put into establishing links
between Internet usage habits and particular products (including Internet
service provision itself) to target sales most effectively. Such information
tends to be aggregated at a national or industry sector level describing, for
example, the current demand for a given level of bandwidth from a
‘typical’ domestic Internet user in a specific country. We have decomposed
this and other data to determine individual user type profiles.
We have focused on demands
which generate real economic
returns
We have followed standard
user profiling techniques
6
Users have been split between
professional and domestic
User types
Past surveys of Internet usage have traditionally delineated between
businesses (professional) and leisure (domestic) use and this broad principle
has been applied to guide our research. User categories have been further
broken down into a number of specific user types:
• Professional
▪ Large industrial business offices and R&D institutions, typically
requiring high-bandwidth, high-availability servers for data-mining
and dissemination. Facilities for extensive, regular back-up and
access on-line databases are also typically required.
▪ Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
▪ Home workers (including the use of Virtual Private Networks)
• Domestic
▪ Rural users (which also reflects the Internet usage of older citizens
and of those whose Internet use is only occasional)
▪ Casual web-browser (day-to-day use of the Internet for search and
low quality video streaming, social networking, portal, blogs and
picture sharing)
▪ Gamers (including real-time gaming, strategy, extensive downloads
of new games)
▪ Streaming Video users (watching and downloading video and audio
clips)
What follows is a synthesis of our findings with respect to the Internet
demand profiles of these different user types. More detailed supporting
technical descriptions can be found in Appendix A.
7
Professional users
Large industry, governmental & research establishments
In the commercial business sphere Internet traffic generated by large
industry is primarily generated by data transfer processes through routine
(typically daily) file back-up and synchronisation processes. An increasing
share of commercial business Internet traffic is being taken up by audio-
visual services, such as video conferencing and webinars alongside the more
traditional uses of information/marketing distribution, e-commerce and
desk research. E-mail remains a high proportion of business Internet use.
Many large governmental departments now offer multiple services to
citizens online (so called eGovernment). These typically involve the upload
and download of significant quantities of information, such as tax returns
and on-line e-learning courses. The multimedia interface of the Internet
also offers an ideal platform to communicate advice to citizens on a range
of issues (from advice on health and education to information on transport,
employment and crime); indeed 28% of citizens and 68% of business
regularly use eGovernment services[7]. However, governmental sites, whilst
offering a lot of information to citizens, vary markedly in sophistication
across Europe[7].
In terms of the demand profile created there is generally a need for high-
speed uncapped Internet access. For most business applications low latency
and symmetry are not required; however, some corporate software
applications may be designed to require low latency or symmetry.
Professional, industrial users are often more concerned with dedicated
connections rather than speed, latency and symmetry.
Small-Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The SME sector represents a very wide range of companies whose
requirements will vary significantly both through the size of the
organisation and the activities in which they are involved. Larger IT savvy
companies will have a greater demand for Internet connectivity compared
to smaller, non-ICT related businesses. The gap between the smallest and
largest businesses in terms of broadband use has, however, been steadily
decreasing over recent years. By comparison, the adoption of mobile access
to the Internet varies, with extremes of just over 87% for the largest
businesses compared with just over 32% for the smallest[9]. 54% of
businesses are providing employees with Internet-enabled PDAs or mobile
telephony for remote working, 52% provide broadband for home working,
and more than one third use instant messaging. 24% currently use Internet
Governments and industry are
the main sources of commonly
accessed online services
Most big businesses are as
concerned with dedicated
capacity as they are with the
speed of connection
Use of Internet by Small-
Medium sized Enterprises is
growing rapidly
8
Industrial, government and R&D
requirements
Speed of connection High to Very High
Total bandwidth consumed Very High
Symmetrical connection Required
Susceptibility to latency Medium to High
Many businesses are content
with a DSL connection
Access to broadband Internet
is enabling more home
working
telephony in their business, and another 19% expect to do so in the next 2-3
years, pointing to a near doubling of this technology in the workplace. 22%
don’t currently offer or use any of these technologies[8].
Across Europe a DSL connection is the most popular way for businesses to
connect to the Internet with over 80% of businesses connected via this
medium. Uptake of fibre connections has been relatively low due partly to
a lack of availability, partly to cost and partly to the businesses being
largely satisfied by a DSL connection. Symmetry and low latency are
relatively unimportant.
Home workers
Across Europe home working has risen markedly as Internet broadband has
become more widely available. This is principally thought to be because
broadband connections have enabled information to be accessed remotely
over Virtual Private Networks (VPN) which enable employees to securely
connect to e-mail and employer databases remotely[15]. Due to this close
association between the availability of broadband Internet and home-
working, countries with low levels of broadband penetration tend to have
lower levels of home workers[16].
9
Small/Medium Enterprise requirements
Speed of connection Medium to Very High
Total bandwidth consumed Very High
Symmetrical connection Occasionally Required
Susceptibility to latency Low
Home worker requirements
Speed of connection Medium
Total bandwidth consumed Medium to High
Symmetrical connection Not Required
Susceptibility to latency Low
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
All 1-50 Employees 51-250 Employees
Aware of VoIP
Currently using VoIPUse and awareness of VoIP
The percentage of households with access to broadband Internet in 2009 is
shown in the graph below.
10
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Korea
Iceland
Denmark
Netherlands
Norw
ay
Sweden
Finland
Canada*
Switzerland*
United Kingdom
Luxembourg
Belgium
Japan
France
Germ
any
Austria
Australia*
United States*
EU Average
Spain
Ireland
Hungary
Portugal
Poland
Czech R
epublic
Slovak R
epublic
New Zealand*
Italy
Greece
Mexico
Percentage of homes with broadband Internet
Domestic use of Internet is
also rising, but significant
differences exist between EU
countries
Streaming of HD TV is likely
to drive future domestic
bandwidth use
Take-up of Internet is lower
in thinly populated areas
Domestic users Domestic Internet use has increased dramatically over recent years. In a
recent survey more than 80% agreed that Internet connectivity should be
universally available, regardless of where people live[25].
Homes are now routinely equipped with various Internet enabled devices
such as IP phones, laptops, televisions and remotely controllable devices
(such as intruder alarms). Day-to-day Internet activities such as e-mail
(which remains the most popular online activity globally[26]) along with
listening to music, browsing news, RSS feeds and podcasts, performing
online banking and using instant messaging require relatively low speed and
usage of bandwidth.
However, there are significant regional variations: online banking is less
popular in Romania, while watching TV programs is least popular in Spain;
in the UK and Germany, downloading music is a top 10 activity and
compared to other countries, online gambling scores well in Sweden. East
and Southern Europeans are more active instant messaging, while Southern
Europeans have a slightly higher fraction of bloggers than Western and
Eastern Europe[43].
In the future, higher bandwidth requirements will be driven mainly by the
desire to stream and download high quality (HD) video or TV programmes,
and such applications will drive necessary speeds up to 8 Mbit/s. The chart
below shows the bandwidth requirements of the various domestic Internet
applications envisaged over coming years.
Rural users
Whilst we have identified a category called ‘rural’ Internet user, this
category is also reflective of many older users whose use of the Internet is
currently low. In the future though, use of the Internet for online medical
consultations to enhance the efficiency and convenience of health provision
may increase this[27][28].
Broadband is currently available to 80% of Europe’s rural population[4]
although generally at quite slow connection speeds which may have
restricted the take-up of online services: use of eGovernment services in
11
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
VoIP Online Radio Fast Browsing SD Video
Streaming
P2P File Sharing HDTV
Downloads
HDTV Streaming
Mbit/s
Bandwidth required for different applications
the EU27 is respectively 22.5% in thinly populated areas and 32.9% in
densely populated areas. Rural users tend to use the Internet mainly for
basic audio visual streaming and general web-browsing[23]. Demand for
higher connection speeds may be depressed by the lower incomes of some
rural households.
In the 55-to 74-year-old age group weekly Internet usage drops off
markedly: just 19% of European women in this age bracket were weekly
Internet users during the first quarter of 2007, compared to 31% of
European men. Since this data was gathered, more senior Europeans have
seen the benefits of Internet use and moving online but the correlation
between Internet usage and gender remains starkest in the 55 and older
group[45]. As the current Internet literate population ages, Internet usage
by older citizens is likely to increase to more normal levels.
Rural, senior and occasional Internet users rarely require speeds of more
than 2 Mbit/s; latency is not an issue and asymmetric upload speeds of up
to 0.5 Mbit/s are usually more than sufficient. In response to this
connectivity requirement, governments and institutions across the EU plan
to invest in the development of broadband infrastructure. This will provide
a means of upgrading skills, providing training opportunities for people and
entrepreneurs located in rural areas, including agricultural workers, the
food industry and forest managers. Provision for rural broadband varies
widely across Europe with some countries only providing rural inhabitants
with mobile broadband if and where coverage is available. The situation
with respect to rural broadband service provision is further exacerbated
given that users are dotted around scarcely populated areas, such that
aggregating demand to achieve sufficient economies of scale is difficult.
Casual web-browsers
A casual web-browser is an individual that uses the Internet on a regular
basis to check e-mail and surf the web, someone who goes Internet
shopping and uses social networking sites to keep in contact with their
friends – the latter of which has seen a recent explosion in popularity[6].
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the most popular
use of the Internet was for e-mail. Casual users will also download music or
videos and upload photos and files from time to time. This user will also
occasionally use the Internet to stream average quality on-demand TV. This
is the single biggest Internet user group; in a recent survey 35% of
Europeans declared using the Internet in the last 3 months prior to the
survey for the type of services typified by these users[6].
Over half of Europeans access download broadband speeds above 2 Mbit/s[4]
and according to recent survey more than one in eight people do not think
a universal minimum broadband speed of 2 Mbit/s is fast enough, but that
Use of Internet by those aged
55 and above will rise
significantly as the population
ages
Amongst day-to-day Internet
users, e-mail remains the
most popular activity
12
Rural users requirements
Speed of connection Low
Total bandwidth consumed Medium
Symmetrical connection Not Required
Susceptibility to latency Low
User generated media is the
largest growth area
Streaming HD video will
become commonplace
4-8 Mbit/s is[29][30]. Conversely, a survey by Ofcom revealed that the
majority of consumers are happy with the speeds they currently receive[25].
HD video streamer
Whilst casual browsers represent the largest proportion of users today, HD
video streamers represent the most common future user of the Internet
over a 5 to 10 year time frame. Across Europe, consumers are not spending
significantly more time online than they were a year ago. However, as one
usage grows, another tends to shrink. As a whole, the communication
(including Instant Messaging) and content sectors (including portals, ISPs
and government) are in decline whilst the exploding consumer generated
media phenomenon is growing and seeing a trend towards streaming of HD
video[44]. Indeed overall, consumer generated media (+47%), search (+13%)
and entertainment (+8%) sites have experienced the biggest increases in
online time while communication (-10%), and content sites (-3%) have
experienced the biggest decreases[6].
This fact is reflected in the following graph describing IP expansion and
breakdown of its use in recent times.
Europeans are rapidly changing their habits, adopting new ways to
communicate. 80% of regular Internet users engage in increasingly
interactive activities (e.g. communicating, using online financial services,
sharing and creating new content and participating in innovative processes
[28]) and thus the uptake of services such as streaming of HD video are
likely to become commonplace where available speed of connectivity
permits. Streaming of HD video is likely to be the application which drives
future volumes in Internet traffic[48].
13
Casual browser requirements
Speed of connection Low
Total bandwidth consumed Medium
Symmetrical connection Not Required
Susceptibility to latency Low
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Pbyte/month
Web/Email
P2P
Gaming
Internet Video to PC
Internet Video to TV
Growth in Internet bandwidth
Thus the type of user described here will use the Internet connection not
only to support the typical web-browsing applications of the ‘casual web-
browser’ described above but also to support the download of broadcast
video, typically in high definition and, often, direct to a TV or media
storage unit.
Gamers
People who play large amounts of video games over the Internet are
referred to as gamers. They are a very particular user group whose needs
are generally quite different from those of others and which are very
dependant upon their gaming habits.
Turn-based strategy games for example will have very different
requirements to a first-person real-time role playing game in terms
of the bandwidth, symmetry and latency. Turn-based games will
require the user to periodically upload significant quantities of
information to web-server while real-time games will need swift
continual transfer of relatively small amounts of information.
Moreover gamers tend to be highly IT literate and will, in general,
use data transfer heavy means of communicating including, social
networks, video and webcasts; in addition to using the web to
acquire games through downloads.
Gamers are dominated by 20-35 year old males who typically, live
in urban and sub-urban areas[38]. It has been argued that the
reason they are clustered around these areas is the ready
accessibility to high speed Internet. However there is no evidence
to suggest it is a driver for urbanisation, nor is there any indication
that, as gamers grow older, the age demographic will similarly
increase, but instead that a new set of younger users will emerge.
The map on the left shows the relative concentration of 20-30 year
olds in the UK and reveals a distribution clustered around city
centres and suburban belts with much lower distributions in rural
areas. Most gamers are therefore currently living in cities and
towns and not in the countryside.
Gamers have specific needs,
but the use of the Internet for
gaming will not drive
bandwidth requirements,
nor urbanisation
14
Gamers requirements
Speed of connection Medium
Total bandwidth consumed High
Symmetrical connection No
Susceptibility to latency High
HD streamer requirements
Speed of connection Medium to High
Total bandwidth consumed High
Symmetrical connection Not Required
Susceptibility to latency Low
A connection of 10 Mbit/s is
sufficient for all but the most
demanding users
Conclusions We have identified a number of distinct Internet usage profiles and
assessed the demands of these users against a set of criteria based upon
the technical performance of their connection. The performance criteria
we have used include whether or not a connection needs to be symmetric
together with the following:
As might be expected, demand for Internet connectivity varies in many
different ways across the different kinds of user we have identified and
different data sources give varying figures. However, it is possible to
determine some typical figures and the results point to a number of
interesting conclusions:
• The vast majority of Internet users are unlikely to need more than a
10 Mbit/s asymmetric connection with a reasonable monthly bandwidth
allowance over the near to medium term.
• The only current and foreseeable domestic application which exceeds
this requirement is that of streaming of high definition video.
• There are very few applications which require low latency.
• Business use (both for larger SMEs and for big industry) is only likely to
be fully supported by very high speed connections.
One of the questions which this paper aimed to address was whether or not
the drive to roll-out fibre across Europe was the optimum way of delivering
the mix of Internet services required by consumers. The table below
identifies the ability of the different delivery platforms to meet the various
service parameters we have defined.
15
ADSL Mobile Satellite Fibre
Speed of connection Low to High Low to High Low to Medium High to Very
High
Total data delivered Nominally unlimited; however caps
often apply
Generally limited to around 1 Gbyte
per month[46]
Generally limited to a few Gbyte per month except for
professional use
Unlimited
Symmetrical
connection No No No (except for
professional use) Yes
Performance with
respect to latency High Medium Medium High
Low Medium High Very High
Speed of connection Up to 2 Mbit/s Between 2 and 10
Mbit/s
Between 10 and
30 Mbit/s Above 30 Mbit/s
Total bandwidth
consumed
Less than 1
Gbyte/month
Between 1 and 10
Gbyte/month
Between 10 and
100 Gbyte/month Unlimited
Susceptibility to
latency
Able to withstand latency over 500
milliSeconds
Able to withstand latency between 100 and 500
milliSeconds
Latency must be below 100
milliSeconds
[not used]
The following table summarises the various requirements of the user types
identified and compares these with the ability of various alternative
delivery mechanisms to service to that requirement (ticks in brackets
indicate that the technology concerned may be able to support some users
within that category but not all).
It is clear that the high speed, high bandwidth, symmetric, low latency
services provided by fibre are unnecessary in order to deliver the services
that the majority of consumers seek. Only in the case of large industries
and to a lesser extent larger SMEs would fibre provide the most appropriate
minimum solution. It is worth noting that some of these user needs are
currently being met by professional satellite services[47]. For other
consumers, a mix of other delivery methods appears more than capable of
meeting their requirements both now and in the medium, and longer, term.
Streaming of HD video can in many cases be performed more readily and
efficiently using broadcast means, especially if many people want the same
content. As such, a broadcast delivery platform (e.g. cable or satellite) may
be best situated to support users’ HD video aspirations in conjunction with
alternative Internet delivery means − significantly reducing the need for
extensive and expensive fibre roll-out.
Both mobile and satellite means of delivering broadband data are similarly
placed with respect to the user groups they can serve, which correspond to
the majority of everyday domestic Internet users. Whilst rural users’ needs
can theoretically be met by mobile Internet services, it is questionable
whether coverage would extend to these areas (indeed the same is true of
fibre and ADSL). However, satellite is already able to meet the demand of
these users as its de facto coverage includes rural areas.
Whether or not, therefore, a policy which promotes fibre as the primary
means of Internet delivery for all users is a reasonable way forward
depends to a large extent on the relative cost of delivery via the different
means. However, it is certain that the use of existing (ADSL and satellite)
infrastructure is likely to be able to economically deliver the necessary
bandwidth to those users who are not within easy reach of fibre (and even
many who are). A more balanced approach, which recognises the strengths
and weaknesses of the different delivery platforms and the differing
demands of Internet users would therefore be a much more pragmatic, cost
effective and reasoned way forward.
Fibre is not needed
everywhere
HD video content may be best
distributed via a broadcast
medium
Existing (ADSL and satellite)
technologies can economically
deliver connectivity to those
not in easy reach of fibre
16
User type Speed of
connection
Monthly
bandwidth
Symmetry
required
Latency
susceptibility ADSL Mobile Satellite
Large Industrial High to Very High Very High Yes Medium to High (�)
SME High High Some Low (�) (�)
Home Worker Medium Medium to High No Low � �
Rural Low Medium No Low � � �
Casual Low Medium No Low � � �
HD streamer Medium to High High No Low � � see below
Gamer Medium High No High �
Appendix A − User profiles
Large industry, governmental & research establishments
Small-Medium Sized Enterprises
17
Speed of
connection
Typically 4 or 5 bespoke connections of up to 1Gbps in bandwidth are installed to serve the larger office buildings of larger companies and institutions[22]. ISPs offer managed Internet Access offers
speeds from 2Mb to 1Gb − to ensure fast, always-on access for business-critical systems and applications – often enabled through a
dedicated fibre-optic cable.
Total bandwidth
consumed
Large businesses with very high-speed broadband connections generally have an uncapped monthly allowance due to the large volumes of data uploaded and downloaded daily to web servers and back-up systems. A large modern office block will typically
download around 1 TB (terrabyte) of data each month[40].
Symmetrical
connection
Some businesses demand symmetrical connections at speeds
between 1Mb/s and 100 Mb/s.
Latency Latency requirements are typically low − around 20ms except where a dedicated line has been installed to ensure very low latency levels to facilitate a low latency connection to support web
conferencing[11].
Speed of
connection
More than 80% of European businesses have a fixed broadband connection, three quarters of them with average download speeds above 2 Mbit/s[6]. Recently various trade associations for small businesses have lobbied for a minimum of 8 Mbit/s connection
speeds to be rolled out across Europe[10].
However, connection speeds are generally faster in western Europe where two or three connections of up-to 20-24 Mbit/s in speed are often used by small business as part of bundled packages by ISPs
who may also prioritise business traffic over domestic customers.
The British Computer Society has reported that a third of all businesses think they will need speeds of up to 100 Mb/s in the
future in order to run core business computing[18].
Total bandwidth
consumed
Most small businesses buy packages from ISPs without caps,
monthly usage exceeding 100 GB[14].
Symmetrical
connection
Symmetry is rarely important as long as upload speeds are
comparable to download speeds.
Latency Latency is not normally an issue except for some applications[11]
[12], where 20ms typical latency will be required.
Home workers
Rural users
Casual web-browser
18
Speed of
connection
Home-workers require speeds of at least 1 Mbit/s, and if routinely backing up their systems remotely, then speeds closer to 2.5 Mbit/s[19]
are required.
Access large files remotely to work with them at home (including their
back up), speeds upwards of 2-4 Mbit/s are generally required[17].
Total bandwidth
consumed Regular back ups will typically require a monthly download of 10GB.
Symmetrical
connection Symmetry is not a significant issue.
Latency Home workers require relatively low latency connections in order to communicate in real-time with remotely networked systems (such as storage servers). This is particularly important if the connection is to avoid becoming overloaded with multiple and conflicting commands from user to server. Typically latencies of between 25-100 ms are required to
avoid conflicting commands being sent to the server[42]
Speed of
connection
Speeds of around 0.5 Mpbs, suitable to support casual web-browsing and
text-based communication[24].
Rural broadband users are used to download speeds a third slower then
those in urban or surburban locations; typically around 1-2 Mbit/s.
Total bandwidth
consumed Typical monthly bandwidth consumption is around 3GB.
Symmetrical
connection There is no identified need for a symmetrical connection.
Latency There is no identified need for a low latency connection.
Speed of
connection
Download speeds of between 2 Mbit/s-4 Mbit/s are likely to be sufficient
for the needs of the average web-browser[32][33].
Total bandwidth
consumed
The lack of demand for the streaming and download of high quality video by this user group means that typically casual Internet browsing will
consume between 6-8 GB per month[34].
Symmetrical
connection
Casual web-users typically require upload speeds of up 0.5-1 Mbit/s, a need driven by the need to send e-mails with large attachments (such as A/V files) and uploading photographs to picture sharing websites and
other forms of cloud computing services[27][34].
Latency Latency requirements are driven by the need to efficiently support day-to-day web-browsing; e.g. the command for a video to stream to be buffered within a given timeframe. As such the latency requirements are not
stringent.
HD Video downloaders
Gamers
How Helios can help Helios understands the technical, commercial and economic facets of the
bewildering variety of different technologies which can deliver broadband
Internet connections.
We can help regulators, service providers and end users to develop their
strategy and approach to maximising the benefit which these technologies
offer.
19
Speed of
connection
A minimum connection speed of at least 4 Mbit/s is required to support video downloads. To stream HD video of a constant quality without ‘jerks’ a connection speed of at least 10 Mbit/s is required by the user[32]. However, if the content is pre-downloaded onto a local hard disk
this connection speed may be somewhat excessive for the users’ needs.
Total bandwidth
consumed
One hour of programming content is typically around 0.5 GB in size for standard definition programming, and approximately double that for high definition programming. Thus considering a user that typically views 27 hours of on demand content each month, the monthly download requirement currently stands at around 30 GB[36]. Some
predict this will rise fivefold by 2014[48].
Symmetrical
connection
Upload speeds are relatively low: 2 Mbit/s connection speeds satisfy
these users’ needs.
Latency Latency requirements are similar to that for the casual web-browser, driven primarily by the need for a response to be generated from a remote server to commence the download or stream of video content.
As such the latency requirements are not stringent.
Speed of
connection
A high bandwidth of around 8 Mbit/s is, in general, required for
effective gaming.
Total bandwidth
consumed
Total monthly consumption of around 15GB is sufficient. It should be noted that this download limit is, by comparison, quite modest as although gamers they spend many hours on line they generally send
relatively small amounts of information[11][37].
Symmetrical
connection
Good performance upload speed (2 Mbit/s), though this does not imply
full symmetry.
Latency Gamers (especially ‘first person shooters’) need low latency, ideally
much less than 100 ms.
References [1] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/telecoms/reports/
bbspeed_jan09/bbspeed_jan09.pdf
[2] http://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband
[3] http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?
reference=MEMO/09/35
[4] http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/
future_internet/swp_bpi.pdf
[5] http://en-us.nielsen.com/tab/product_families/nielsen_netratings
[6] http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/
annual_report/2009/sec_2009_1103.pdf
[7] http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/
benchmarking/egov_benchmark_2007.pdf
[8] http://www.cbi.org.uk/pdf/cbigooglesurvey1106.pdf
[9] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/ecom1109.pdf
[10] http://mediacentre.thus.net/latest-news/2010/03/the-devil-is-in-
the-detail/
[11] http://www.dslreports.com/speed
[12] http://developer.yahoo.net/blog/archives/performance/
[13] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/broadband_rpt/
broadband_rpt.pdf
[14] http://business.bt.com/broadband-and-internet/internet-access/
broadband
[15] http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/working-from-home-
broadband.html
[16] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/labour_market_trends/
teleworking_Oct05.pdf
[17] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/59/39574039.xls
[18] http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file47788.pdf
[19] http://www.samknows.com/broadband/news/broadband-upload-
speeds-set-to-improve-10635.html
[20] http://www.telco2.net/blog/2008/12/
[21] http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/
interinstitutional/cocom_broadband_july09.pdf
[22] http://www.opal.co.uk/products-and-services/business-broadband-
internet-connections/broadband-adsl/
[23] http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/
article4057225.ece
20
[24] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/5919422/Rural-
broadband-users-get-a-third-slower-service-says-Ofcom.html
[25] http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?
newsid=105129&pn=13
[26] http://www.education-innovation.net/apple08.htm
[27] http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/Getting-up-to-
speedv5.pdf
[28] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?
uri=COM:2009:0390:FIN:EN:PDF
[29] http://www.prlog.org/10292687-most-brits-reject-minimum-uk-
broadband-speed-of-2 Mbit/s-as-slow.html
[30] http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/
[31] http://www.pr.com/press-release/168106
[32] http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/broadband/speed-guide/2/
[33] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4497351.stm
[34] http://www.broadband-finder.co.uk/broadband-information/
broadband-buying-guide.html
[35] http://www.telco2.net/blog/2008/12/
[36] http://en-us.nielsen.com/main/insights/consumer_insight/
april_2009/media_is_on_demand
[37] http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband/gaming-broadband
[38] http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/publications/pandpexamples.htm
[39] http://www.on-communications.com/
[40] http://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/expanding-digital-
idc-white-paper.pdf
[41] http://www.spcnetwork.co.uk/uploads/Business_Customers.pdf
[42] http://compnetworking.about.com/od/speedtests/a/
network_latency.htm
[43] eScape Reports by In-Site, September 2007
[44] Nielsen Online, June 2008
[45] eMarketer, February 2008
[46] http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-working/2010/06/10/o2-
drops-unlimited-mobile-data-allowance-40089205/
[47] http://www.comsys.co.uk/wvr_main.htm
[48] http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/
ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-481360.pdf
21
The content of this document is intended for general guidance only and, where relevant, represents
our understanding of the current status of telecoms industry matters. Action should not be taken
without seeking professional advice. No responsibility for loss by any person acting or refraining from
action as a result of the material in this document can be accepted and we cannot assume legal l iabil-
ity for any errors or omissions this document may contain.
© Hel ios Technology Ltd - June 2010
Al l rights reserved.
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