The User-Managed, Usage-Based Future of Broadband
With subscriber growth slowing at the same time broadband usage is exploding, providers face a new set of challenges, the most pressing of which is sustainability.
However, the move to usage-based services requires operators to adopt new technologies and practices that will enable them to collect and manage subscriber usage data as well as support
mechanisms for sharing this data with their customers and allow them to actively participate in the management of their service. Usage data also serves as the foundation for effective traffic and
congestion management.
Technology Requirements for Usage-Based Services
In order to transition to usage-based services, broadband providers need a system to collect usage data from the network in an accurate and timely fashion. For cable operators, the IP Detail
Record (IPDR) protocol is a highly efficient and scalable means of collecting usage and network performance data from subscribers' cable modems. Operators of other fixed-line broadband networks,
such as DSL, can use RADIUS accounting to collect usage data.
But collecting the data is only part of the picture. Providers must have an operations support system in place that can efficiently process and store the massive volume of subscriber usage data
collected. Consider that a large cable provider with millions of subscribers needs to collect, process and store millions of IPDRs every hour, which translates to tens of millions every day,
hundreds of millions every week, and billions over the course of a year. That operator needs an operations support system (OSS) that is able to efficiently process and store hundreds of
terabytes of detailed, per-subscriber usage data, and maintain the data for long retention cycles (typically a year) while providing fast access to it for reporting and analytics.
Usage Tiers and Quota Management
The highly granular, subscriber-centric data collected and stored by this system can be used to generate internet usage statistics that provide critical visibility into how subscribers are
consuming broadband services. This information can be shared with subscribers via a web-based service portal featuring a broadband usage meter, which would allow subscribers to monitor their
daily, monthly and historical data usage, and select the appropriate usage tier based on their needs.
