The document evaluates internet traffic management practices in the UK, highlighting potential discrimination through blocking, filtering, and traffic shaping. Competition among ISPs is noted as a factor that could reduce discriminatory practices, although it does not guarantee non-discrimination. The influence of market structure on traffic management strategies is emphasized, with recommendations for future technology designers to consider these incentive structures.

1. Internet Traffic Management in the UK
Alissa Cooper
Chief Computer Scientist

2. Discrimination
differential treatment
of different Internet traffic
on the basis of application or content
2

3. Potential avenues for discrimination
Blocking/filtering
Prioritization/QoS
Traffic shaping
Interconnection
Caching
3

4. Potential avenues for discrimination
Blocking/filtering
Prioritization/QoS
Traffic shaping
Interconnection
Caching
Operator’s initiative Negotiated with app provider
No payment Payment
Performance justification Revenue + performance justification
Traffic management Everything else
4

5. Potential avenues for discrimination
Blocking/filtering
Prioritization/QoS
Traffic shaping
Interconnection
Caching
Operator’s initiative Negotiated with app provider
No payment Payment
Performance justification Revenue + performance justification
Traffic management Everything else
5

6. Potentially discriminatory
traffic management examples
• Blocking/filtering
– Preventing pure BitTorrent seeding
• Traffic shaping
– Allocating small % of peak bandwidth to
identified P2P protocols
– Limiting identified streaming video traffic to
1 Mbps at peak time
6

7. ISP 0 ISP 1 ISP 2 ISP 3 ISP 4 . . . ISP N
7

8. ISP 0 ISP 1 ISP 2 ISP 3 ISP 4 . . . ISP N
8

9. Competition
Competition reduces operator’s incentive to
discriminate because discrimination may drive
customers to competitors
9

10. Competition
Competition reduces operator’s incentive to
discriminate because discrimination may drive
customers to competitors
10

11. Urban
Unbundled exchange
BT Openreach access ISP backhaul ISP network
Rural
11
BT Openreach access BT Wholesale ISP network
backhaul

12. UK broadband connection shares
12

13. Hints of UK application shaping
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
BT Retail P2P
Video
Everything
P2P, News
Everywhere
O2 P2P, Video
O2 off-net P2P, News
TalkTalk P2P
Sky
Sky off-net P2P, News
Virgin P2P
Virgin P2P
off-net
User-reported limits: App experiences 0.5% to 10% of headline speed.
Weekdays afternoon to midnight, weekends mid-day to midnight. 13

14. Cost savings
£££
Openreach access BT Wholesale ISP network
backhaul
14

15. Cost savings
£
Openreach access BT Wholesale ISP network
backhaul
15

16. Price competition
16

17. TM platforms get entrenched
17

18. Why?
• Cost savings
• Price competition
• Traffic management platforms get
entrenched
Sdf Competition has not safeguarded
nondiscriminatory traffic management
in the UK
18

19. BT TalkTalk Virgin Sky, O2 Everything
smaller ISPs Everywhere
19

20. Hints of US app limitations
FCC Enforcement FCC Rules
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
AT&T
CenturyLin
k
P2P
Comcast
P2P
Cox
P2P
Other cable
Verizon
Observed behavior consisted primarily of
preventing pure BitTorrent seeding.
20

21. Conclusions
• Traffic management strategies can be
highly influenced by market structure
• Competition does not necessarily prevent
discriminatory traffic management
• Designers of future traffic management
technologies should recognize primacy of
incentive structures into which they want
to deploy
21

22. Questions?
Alissa Cooper
Center for Democracy &
Technology
acooper@cdt.org