IrelandOffline NBS briefing document

bealtine

This document is now available on the IrelandOffline website


http://irelandoffline.org/resources/briefing-documents/

direct link:
http://irelandoffline.org/wp-content/2009/02/irelandoffline-nbs_briefing_document.pdf

Enjoy.

kaizersoze

Direct link not working. This one is.

http://irelandoffline.org/wp-content/2009/02/irelandoffline-nbs_briefing_document.pdf

bealtine

kaizersoze wrote: »

Direct link not working. This one is.

http://irelandoffline.org/wp-content/2009/02/irelandoffline-nbs_briefing_document.pdf

Thanks, stupid copy'n'paste I've amended the original.

Thraktor

Very well done. I was actually going to suggest that IrelandOffline put together something like this, but it seems you're already well ahead of me. I haven't read through the entire thing yet, but it seems well researched and articulated.

One quick suggestion, though, is to add some sort of "Executive Summary" to the start of it. These sort of things often seem like they're intended for idiots or lazy people, but they can be very useful, both for people who simply don't have the time to read through the entire thing (like someone on a news desk who has lots of PR to filter through) as well as to get across the main points of the report quickly and motivate the reader to actually make it through the rest of the document.

Going by the bolded parts of the report and other items that seem to be important, a quick example summary would be something like this:

- The National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a program by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to deliver universal broadband access in Ireland by the provision of services to those areas (estimated to contain 10% of the population) where commercial operators do not reach.

- The position of service provider for the NBS was put to competitive tender, a process which was won by Three Ireland, part of the Hutchison Whampoa group.

- Three Ireland will serve 92% of NBS customers with a wireless offering based on I-HSPA, a 3G mobile technology. The remainder will be offered a satellite-based service.

- 3G internet services, due to their low speeds, high latency and unreliable service are not considered broadband by most other EU and OECD regulators, and are explicitly excluded from the OECD's broadband statistics. 3G internet is widely termed "midband" because of this.

- There have been few details about the selection process for the NBS. It has not been an open process. Many existing customers are deeply dissatisfied with the level of service currently offered by 3 Ireland and the level of customer service provided.

- Three claim that the service they provide will have a 36:1 contention ratio, however the 3G technology being used does not give them the ability to limit contention.

- Three claim in their specifications that they will provide download speeds ranging from 1.2Mbps to 5Mbps, however an analysis of the technology and infrastructure to be installed shows that the actual download speeds will range from 86kbps to 345kbps.

- Three plan to install 160 masts to provide their service, however it would need up to 1,500 to provide a minimum download speed of even 256kbps (which is itself less than a quarter of their claimed minimum).

- The high latency and variable speeds make 3G highly unsuitable for many common broadband uses such as VoIP, online videogames, and VPN teleworking.

- Three will provide a 12GB download allowance in the €19.99 per month package. However, anyone who exceeds this allowance will be charged over €275 per GB.

- We in IrelandOffline do not believe that the proposed 3G service can possibly deliver the outlined specifications with the required consistency of speed for the NBS to be considered true broadband.

The key point to get across is that Three have inflated their download speed claims by over 1,200% beyond what could reasonably be expected from the technology and infrastructure they're promising. If people get a good idea of what the actual speeds are going to be like, then you've got a story.

leoc

Thanks to everyone who helped produce this. In future, however, could we have a comment period for documents like this, so that members can review and suggest edits to a draft before the final version is formally announced?

watty

Nokia sponsered paper (The vendor for 3's system):

This paper analyzes with measurements the VoIP quality over current
Release 5 HSDPA networks. The results show that even though
the introduction of HSDPA significantly reduces the user-to-user
voice delay, the performance is satisfactory only for selected
devices, the overall end user experience is still significantly worse
than with circuit switched solutions and not acceptable.

http://people.nokia.net/cedric/Papers/aict08.pdf
or google "Towards High Quality VoIP in 3G Networks"

using I-HSPA will have no improvement for of 70% of users in a Rural cell.

This research is about 18months old. W-CDMA/3G/HSPA is not designed to cope with VOIP.

cowboy1981

watty wrote: »

Nokia sponsered paper (The vendor for 3's system):

http://people.nokia.net/cedric/Papers/aict08.pdf
or google "Towards High Quality VoIP in 3G Networks"

Has anyone tried VOIP on a 3 dongle, even in their current urban focused coverage? Presumable the performance is very poor?

watty

It varies from below average (compared to real broadband) to unusable on O2. There is no reason to suppose that 3 is better. The limitation is the On Air Interface Technology, not the Operator or brand of Modem.

Thraktor

I've noticed that IrelandOffline have requested a meeting with Minister Ryan regarding the NBS. If you actually do manage to get in a room with him, may I suggest that you bring a laptop with a 3 dongle, have another IoffL member with a laptop and dongle in a rural area with 3 "coverage", and demonstrate to him what VoIP over the NBS will actually be like?

watty

Not a scientific test. There is always the risk it might work not too badly.

You need controlled tests with know realist sector loadings and signal levels that are documented.

It's like throwing a die once. A chance of 1/6th for a particular pre named digit to come up. About the same chance of working VOIP.

If a 1,000 to 10,000 people tried it at peak times the results are significant.

RedLedbetter

The results of the actual test could well be too random, with (as Watty said) the risk being that it might actually work "ok", however unlikely!!

However, I think for the meeting with the minister, it would be a good idea to show the potential problems with the degrading effects of the NBS network in a graphical form (i.e. Powerpoint, Visio etc.).

I know you are only showing the information already contained in the briefing document, but displaying that information, in an even simpler form, graphically, is a very powerful tool to use.

I'm talking about:
display a couple of mast icons for planned NBS
add a user at cell centre, show current available bandwidth
add another user at cell edge, show updated available bandwidth to all
add another couple of users in cell, show updated available bandwidth
show comparative fixed wireless or fixed line broadband connections for similar amount of users

It's just a thought but I think it would be quite effective and we want to leave quite an impression!!!

Regards,
Rob

Thraktor

It certainly wouldn't be a scientific test, but moreso a way to give the Minister first-hand experience with the technology that he and his department have decided upon. Of course, you rightly point out the possibility (however unlikely) that it would actually work fine, which certainly wouldn't help the cause.

watty

20% is too likely for a demo, but too poor for service.

But good Powerpoint graphics showing actual little figures with speed speech bubbles in each area of mast speed and cell breathe animated the little minifigs connect will be a easier and more effective thing than a demo.