Today's telecommunications service providers are under pressure to boost revenue, maintain customer loyalty, and deploy new services while preserving infrastructure costs. Compounding this profitability challenge is the explosive growth of high-bandwidth applications that are overloading provider networks and degrading Internet service quality.

Traditionally service providers solved this problem by adding bandwidth capacity. However, these solutions carry a high price tag and often proved to be a short-term fix for a long-term problem. Today, service providers are looking to intelligent IP service optimization to maintain expected levels of service quality—resulting in increased customer loyalty and the ability to build revenue through new tiered services.

Broadband traffic management is quickly becoming the preferred technology for providers looking to optimize service. The idea of broadband traffic management is actually causing quite a stir as part of the network neutrality debate, the focus of which is on whether providers should be able to regulate network traffic to maintain quality of service (QoS) or leave the traffic sources to compete for bandwidth among themselves.

Broadband traffic management does not give service providers a license to deny access to applications or subscribers, but it does offer tools for application control and subscriber management.

Application control refers to prioritizing, shaping, and managing the behavior of packets on the network for optimal performance, using deep packet inspection (DPI). Despite the claims from some network neutrality supporters, service control and fair access are not mutually exclusive. In fact, intelligent control of traffic at the application level is key to ensuring that broadband subscribers enjoy the level of service to which they are entitled. Using a DPI-based solution, service providers can identify hundreds of applications and protocols and use this information to dynamically shape broadband traffic according to preset QoS policies. This provides subscribers with their expected and fair level of service and does not leave any subscribers stuck with a slow connection.

As providers move away from single, best-effort services toward triple-play voice/data/video services and file sharing, application control is becoming a key business process. Companies cannot rely just on monitoring network speeds, feeds, and bandwidth capacity; they need visibility into true network usage and user behavior.

DPI and classification technology differentiate among varieties of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), point to point (PTP), streaming video, Web browsing, and a host of other protocols on the network, making it possible for service providers to prioritize and manage the delivery of individual services. In fact, some broadband traffic management devices can now also classify applications based on the encrypted Bittorrent protocol—a feat once thought impossible.

Application control is much more time- and cost-effective than adding bandwidth—where the increasing popularity of PTP file sharing and the growing size of shared files will continue to fill the available bandwidth pipe. And, application control puts the service provider in complete control of how and when bandwidth resources are allocated, prioritizing bandwidth to more profitable applications and assuring fair access to all subscribers.

Subscriber management is the practice of managing traffic behavior on a per-customer basis. By tracking usage patterns by time of day, application, protocol, byte count, etc., providers can identify, differentiate, and segment groups of users. Groups can then be catered to in a customized manner based on their activity and needs. For example, groups can be offered specific service packages and billing options.

The provider can offer tiered services using a traffic management device to differentiate services with accompanying service-level agreements (SLAs) on a per-subscriber basis. One way to tier is through pricing. A provider could offer a variety of subscriber pricing levels, from basic to premium, or specialty packages for business subscribers, based on the amount of bandwidth requested by the subscriber.

Providers can also offer packages based on application type. It makes sense, for example, to offer VoIP services to those already using Skype. Or gaming services could be awarded priority treatment during weekend or late evening hours to match the typical request for more bandwidth during those late hours. Casual users would also be offered low-cost, lower-throughput plans to ensure that their access was cost-effective based on usage.

Subscriber management also helps providers define usage rates for individual subscribers where subscribers can be allotted a maximum rate limit. They can also be prevented from consuming bandwidth above a contracted service rate. Because DPI products track every subscriber session, usage data is easily obtained and, should subscribers exceed their monthly byte count, an incremental charge can be applied. Subscribers also have the option to increase their allocated bandwidth for specific times or certain applications. For example, a "turbo button" could be used to increase bandwidth from 1 to 5 Mbps to download a movie.

Together, application control and subscriber management put the service provider back in charge while offering subscribers a broader range of payment and usage options.

By having visibility into the network, providers can "see" how applications are behaving and identify the root problems during periods of network congestion. This visibility helps the provider set and enforce policies to ensure QoS for all subscribers—not just the ones demanding the most out of the network. This evens the playing field for all users and provides service on the level that they paid for and expect. It also decreases operational costs associated with adding bandwidth. Instead of adding capacity, bandwidth can be limited and the overage shifted to the applications or users that require it, as it is needed.

For example, some providers have found that PTP traffic consumes up to 70 percent of total capacity, while only 5 percent of heavy PTP users consume 53 percent of the bandwidth. About 95 percent of subscribers experience long delays and poor quality of experience (QoE) when heavy PTP downloads take place. With a DPI solution in place, PTP traffic can be contained, thereby preserving the fair access and guaranteeing QoE for all users. Policies can be set for downstream (to the subscriber) versus upstream (away from the subscriber) traffic flows.

An intelligent network becomes truly optimized when QoS policies are carried out in tandem with a centralized interface, providing a complete panoramic view of the network. Analysis of information in real time and over time allows for effective long-term reporting, capacity planning, usage tracking, and service package optimization.

Data from a broadband traffic management system can be integrated with an operational support system (OSS) and billing management system so that groups of subscribers with custom packages can be billed automatically based on their package options and actual usage.

DPI-based traffic management systems provide an inherent bandwidth fairness mechanism that levels the playing field and ensures quality service for everyone. As subscriber expectations and competitive pressures on service providers increase, traffic management systems will act as a multifaceted (and relatively inexpensive) way to quickly gain the flexibility needed to control service usage and to create new revenue.