Operators have a number of approaches of managing use.
9.14
Fixed broadband usage caps
Usage caps are a traffic management tool used by network operators to limit data 9.15
use. They are often used to design packages that fit consumers’ varying data needs.
Usage caps can be imposed in various ways. A typical cap will limit users to a certain 9.16
amount of data per month. In other models, operators limit the amount of data use during specific times of the day (e.g. at peak periods).
Depending on the package and provider, broadband data caps can range from 2GB 9.17
to 750GB of data per month. All the fixed broadband operators173 now also offer at least one package with no data caps, while some providers exclusively offer
173 BT, Virgin, TalkTalk, Sky, EE, KCOM and PlusNet all offer one or more unlimited fixed broadband packages among their broadband product choices.
‘unlimited’ broadband packages. Unlimited packages are popular: approximately 80%
of fixed broadband customers are subscribed to uncapped packages.
Exceeding a fixed broadband data cap can affect a consumer in a number of ways, 9.18
such as additional data charges or a temporary reduction in access speed.
Mobile usage caps
Most mobile operators impose data caps on some of their packages. Many have 9.19
offered unlimited data packages in the past, notably Three and Giffgaff, although Three announced this year that it would introduce caps, limiting the amount of data that customers can access via tethering174, even if their package includes ‘unlimited’
data.175 Giffgaff announced that it would remove the ‘unlimited internet’ component from two of its top pre-pay monthly plans.176
The consequences of exceeding a mobile data cap are often similar to exceeding 9.20
fixed broadband data caps. However, meeting a pre-pay tariff’s data cap will generally result in a simple suspension of data services until more credit is added.
Network operators may allow their subscribers to access ‘zero-rated’ applications or 9.21
services (also described as ‘sponsored data services’). A subscriber’s use of a zero-rated service will not count towards the data cap on their internet data package: for example, in Germany T-Mobile offers packages on which use of the music streaming service Spotify does not count towards the data cap. Although the data traffic of Spotify and competing music services may not be managed differently on the network, the traffic is treated differently in economic terms as the Spotify traffic does not count towards the customer’s paid-for data allowance. In some circumstances, this may raise net neutrality concerns.
Traffic management: speed restrictions
Traffic management is used by operators to control the speed of data transfer for 9.22
certain applications or services in order to manage network capacity use. It is most often used where congestion occurs - at particularly busy times, or busy parts of the network. This can mean giving priority to services that are time-sensitive (like VoIP) and de-prioritising and/or actively slowing down services that are less
time-dependent, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic.
The type of traffic management employed varies across ISPs. Many ISPs do not 9.23
apply traffic management and may advertise their service as ‘truly unlimited’, both in terms of data use and throttling of certain services (i.e. reducing data speeds for certain services).177 Others apply traffic management in some form, sometimes to different degrees across different broadband packages. In some packages, particular types of traffic are given greater priority, and consumers who particularly value a type of service can choose packages that prioritise such traffic.
174 Tethering refers to connecting a device, such as a mobile phone, to another device (e.g. tablet or laptop) in order to use the first device’s internet connection.
175 http://thenextweb.com/uk/2014/03/18/uk-operator-three-will-limit-data-tethering-2gb-new-customers-even-plan-unlimited/
176 http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2014/09/giffgaff-uk-scraps-cheaper-unlimited-mobile-broadband-data-plans.html
177 Although network congestion may still mean that performance for customers can degrade, particularly during peak load periods.
A common form of traffic management is to place restrictions on P2P178 services 9.24
such as BitTorrent. This is because the design of some P2P software increases data use across a network to fill the available capacity. This can degrade performance for other applications or users sharing the same capacity. Furthermore, P2P downloads are not typically as time-dependent as other applications (such as music or video streaming, gaming and VoIP). In controlling P2P traffic, ISPs and operators can keep network infrastructure costs down without adversely affecting the typical user
experience. However, the impact of traffic management on users of P2P services can be significant. In some cases speeds of P2P traffic can be reduced to a fraction of the speed of other traffic on the network.
Traffic management: application and service restrictions
ISPs and MNOs may also place restrictions on the types of applications and services 9.25
that users can access. Rather than altering the speeds of certain applications and services in order to manage network capacity, this approach to traffic management completely blocks services, or entire classes of services, from a specific content or service provider. According to the Body of European Regulators of Electronic
Communications (BEREC), the most frequently-reported restrictions are the blocking of P2P traffic on both fixed and mobile networks, as well as the blocking of VoIP traffic on mobile networks.179
However, this type of restriction does not necessarily limit demand or enable fairer 9.26
network management.180 Restricting access to services such as VoIP on mobile networks appears to consumers to be commercially-driven: its objective is to incentivise consumers to use the network operator’s own voice service.
MNOs in particular have been known to impose restrictions on the use of VoIP. For 9.27
example, in the past, Vodafone UK customers were able to use VoIP services only on the more expensive packages. However, traffic management policies and usage restrictions are evolving over time in response to changing customer behaviour and competition in the marketplace. VoIP and video-calling applications such as Viber, Google Hangouts, Skype and Facetime are becoming increasingly popular among consumers.181
UK MNOs now have stopped offering packages with VoIP blocks; Vodafone182 and 9.28
EE are now signatories to the Open Internet Code of Practice.183 Virgin Media has also joined the Code, so all major fixed ISPs are also covered. We welcome these positive developments in transparency.
As discussed in the section below, it is crucial that consumers are provided with clear 9.29
information on each operator’s specific policies, so that they can reasonably compare the options available to them.
178 Peer-to-peer is a distributed application that uses end users’ computers as nodes to deliver service applications.
179 http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/line-public-consultation-specific-aspects-transparency-traffic-management-and-switching-open
180 Providers have sometimes argued that the high levels of data traffic generated by VoIP are difficult to manage. However, this type of restriction does not necessarily limit demand on the network, since VoIP calls do not necessarily consume a lot of bandwidth
181 Communications Market Report, Ofcom, August 2014
182 Vodafone has abandoned VoIP restrictions, but it continues to block VoIP on relevant legacy contracts that pre-date July 2014.
183 http://www.broadbanduk.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BSG-Open-Internet-Code-of-Practice-amended-October-2014.pdf
Transparency
In the past few years, there has been increased pressure on mobile and fixed 9.30
operators to be transparent about the ways in which they manage consumers’ data use.
ISPs are subject to an obligation184 to be open with consumers about their traffic 9.31
management practices. Under the auspices of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), and with Ofcom and Government support and encouragement, the ISPs published the Voluntary Industry Code of Practice on Traffic Management in 2011.185 186 Signatories to the Code publish the details of their traffic management practices. Each ISP must:
• Provide the necessary information to consumers about what traffic management takes place, why and with what impact;
• Provide customers with clear, easy-to-understand information on traffic management so that they can better compare broadband packages; and
• Publish a common Key Facts Indicator (KFI) table, summarising the traffic management policy for each package on offer. These tables have been available on signatories’ websites since July 2011.
In 2013, Ofcom187 investigated whether consumer information on traffic management 9.32
was sufficiently clear to consumers, resulting in the publication of its Consumer Guide to Traffic Management.188 The guide was developed following consumer research189 to understand how consumers are buying and using fixed broadband services, and their knowledge of traffic management policies.
The research identified a number of ways in which the quality of traffic management 9.33
information could be improved. Broadly, consumers participating in the research suggested that ISPs should communicate their traffic management policies in clearer and simpler language, use specific measurement criteria when ‘fair usage’ policies are applied, and explain succinctly how these policies affect their range of products.
Following the publication of this research in 2013, and in line with its commitments, 9.34
the BSG worked with ISP signatories to change the ways in which ISPs present traffic management information to their customers. They now provide introductory information explaining their policies, and the impact of the policies on their services, and have updated their KFIs to include glossaries of technical terms.
We have reviewed the KFIs, and asked communications providers to confirm that 9.35
they adhere to them. Our conclusion is that, broadly, transparency about traffic management practices has improved, and in general traffic management policies are less restrictive than previously. In particular, MNOs have dropped specific service blocks on mainstream packages.
184 General Condition 9.2e.
185 http://www.broadbanduk.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Voluntary-industry-code-of-practice-on-traffic-management-transparency-on-broadband-services-updated-version-May-2013.pdf
186 As at May 2013, in addition to the founding signatories of the code (Sky, BT, O2, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone), the following ISPs have signed up to the code since its launch in March 2011: EE, Giffgaff, KCOM, PlusNet, and Tesco Mobile.
187 In collaboration with the BSG and the ISPs
188 http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/internet/internet-traffic-management/
189 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/traffic/
Usage cap transparency
Transparency surrounding usage caps and ‘fair-use’ policies has been the subject of 9.36
particular scrutiny. In the past, some ISPs advertised fixed and mobile broadband services as ‘unlimited’ when these services were in fact subject to a fair-use policy; in effect, a usage cap. Some consumers were being misled by the term ‘unlimited’, and many consumers signing up to such packages were not aware of the fair use
policies.
Guidance introduced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in 2011190 9.37
addressed this problem. The guidance says that fixed and mobile broadband services should only be advertised as ‘unlimited’ when there are genuinely no restrictions on the amount of data that can be used.191
Since the introduction of the guidance, the ASA has taken action against various 9.38
broadband providers due to their usage cap advertising. For example, in 2013 the ASA banned Virgin Media from claiming: “Unlimited downloads. Download and browse as much as you like with no caps and no hidden charges”, because there were restrictions in place that affected some customers’ ability to download data and/or their downloads speeds.192