This is the second in a series of articles by Karl Wale on the topic of deep packet inspection. See also Part I of the series: “3G and LTE Need DPI.”
Deep Packet Inspection, or DPI, is a relatively new addition to the general telecom vocabulary. It promises to deliver better subscriber management, improved network efficiency, additional revenue and better security for operators. But to understand whether DPI is a “friend” or “foe” for consumers, we need to look closer at the issues surrounding each of the benefits, and in particular, some of the more controversial areas such as policy enforcement and subscriber profiling for targeted advertising.
DPI is being promoted as a solution for many of the issues faced by fixed and mobile broadband operators. In fact, DPI as a concept has been around for a long time but it is only now coming to the forefront because the technology has reached a price and performance threshold where it is commercially viable for deployment – and because of certain controversial application areas where it might be used.
The Consumer-Friendly Argument
Looking back, our telecom networks were largely separate silos of functionality: a circuit-switched network carried voice, and a data network handled Internet access. VoIP traffic was also carried over the data networks, but often this involved dedicated paths or was highly managed to guarantee service levels. When an operator ran out of bandwidth it simply threw more fiber at the problem in order to restore status quo.
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| Mobility and a single broadband IP network delivering Internet access, entertainment and voice telephony services are driving traffic management needs. |
In recent years, though, we have seen a dramatic increase in access speeds, particularly with the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G mobile broadband technology. A single broadband IP network is delivering Internet access, entertainment and voice telephony services. Balancing the demands of each of these application types to ensure consistent quality of service is imperative.
At the same time, the introduction of new applications – and the behavior of a minority of users – has started to consume disproportionate amounts of the (shared) bandwidth available, potentially spoiling everyone’s quality of service. Initially compressed music files, then short video snippets, and now full length films (including high definition versions) have caused demand for bandwidth to snowball out of control.
Operators have come to realize that throwing more bandwidth at the problem will not solve the situation in the long run; it merely pushes the problem forward into the future. Especially in an “unmanaged” network, the situation will always remain such that a relatively small number of users will be able to consume a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. To date this has been tolerated given the general public’s preference for flat rate billing plans.
