Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group
BITAG: Overview of Broadband Technologies
Broadband internet access is central to our society and economy. Tens of billions of dollars are now being allocated for construction of new last mile connections.
Latency Explained
It is time to update our understanding of the primary factors directly affecting end-user Internet performance. What we have learned is that high throughput alone is not sufficient. Latency is also a critical factor in providing a high-performance Internet connection. But that is not latency as we have traditionally understood it; rather, it is what we now define as 'working latency.' Over thirty years, industry has collectively missed a key factor that drives end users' Internet quality of experience (QoE). The industry has historically been focused on increasing bandwidth.
2020 Pandemic Network Performance
The report highlights the following findings about internet traffic since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic:
Internet of Things Security and Privacy Recommendations
In the past few years, many of the new devices connected to the Internet have not been personal computers, but rather a variety of devices embedded with Internet connectivity and functions. This class of devices has generally been described as the Internet of Things (IoT) and has brought with it new security and privacy risks. The term “IoT” has potentially broad scope. IoT can refer to deployments in homes, businesses, manufacturing facilities, transportation industries, and elsewhere. Thus, IoT can refer to much more than simply consumer-oriented devices.
For the purposes of this report, we use the term IoT to refer solely to consumer-oriented devices and their associated local and remote software systems, though some or all of our recommendations may be more broadly applicable. This report is concerned with scenarios where consumers are installing, configuring, and administering devices that they lease or own. The number and diversity of consumer IoT devices is growing rapidly; these devices offer many new applications for end users, and in the future will likely offer even more. Many IoT devices are either already available or are being developed for deployment in the near future, including:
- sensors to better understand patterns of daily life and monitor health
- monitors and controls for home functions, from locks to heating and water systems
- devices and appliances that anticipate a consumer’s needs and can take action to address them (e.g., devices that monitor inventory and automatically re-order products for a consumer)
VoIP Impairment, Failure, and Restrictions
A substantial portion of global voice communications are now carried over Internet Protocol (IP) and the Internet has become a fundamental medium supporting voice services.
Voice over IP (VoIP) services allow users to make calls between IP-based endpoints, and to interconnect with the traditional public switched telephone network. Impairment, failure, or restriction of VoIP services can create significant problems for users of those services, and can create problems for the operators of VoIP services, who may be required to troubleshoot or work around issues (where possible) to restore their users’ connectivity.
As VoIP services become more common around the world, incidences of VoIP impairment, failure, or restriction also have the potential to be construed as anti-competitive, discriminatory, or motivated by non-technical factors. With this report BITAG clarifies how VoIP may be impaired, fail, or be restricted in residential, mobile, application provider, and consumer networks and devices; the methods for mitigating VoIP impairments, failures, or restrictions; and recommendations concerning such. Among other things, the report recommends that:
- Network operators should avoid impairing or restricting VoIP applications unless no reasonable alternatives are available to resolve technical issues.
- VoIP-related Application Layer Gateways (ALGs) in operator-supplied home routers should minimize their impact on traffic other than the operator’s VoIP service where possible.
- Manufacturers of home routers should disable VoIP-related ALGs by default.
- Port blocking rules in consumer equipment should be user-configurable.
- If network operators intentionally use network policies or practices that impair or restrict VoIP, they should provide disclosures about those policies and practices and provide communications channels for feedback.
- Application developers should design VoIP applications to be port-agile where possible.