Is the UK Internet still a demo?

The Internet celebrated its 40^th birthday this month, and BT gets some 21C based broadband components rolled out. Meanwhile, Ofcom are consulting on the status of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) in the UK and specifically on what to do given BT have have had a significant re-think about its 21^st century network programme. Of slight concern is that the 88 page document does not reference the plan for Universal Broadband service or make any reference to how the spectrum plan will support the creation of a unified data transport layer for Digital Britain. Never the less it is well worth a read. I hope Ofcom will change the positions it is adopting and here's why?

Next Generation networks use the same set of protocols as the Internet does, but promise to create services which are better and more secure. Proponents of NGNs treat the Internet as if it were a demonstration system, while Internet engineers believe NGNs encompass the dreams of telephone executives wishing to take control of the Internet and do the job properly!

BT's original plan was to to mass migrate its PSTN (phone users) to a NGN to save it costs, place a substantial control layer in place, and use the opportunity to increase broadband speeds to the 'up to 24 Mbps'. That first and second parts of that plan have been set aside and BT has decided to re-focus its investments on getting higher speed connectivity to its users, in the form of fiber (up to 50Mbps) to the cabinet and fiber in between. This is a good news. On this re-focus it seems BT has decided the Internet is not demo and is at least stepping back from trying to control it.

But Ofcom seem to have a problem with this! When pinch points are changing and the material used to define services (copper to fiber) is changing, and the unit of interconnection (from calls to bits) is changing what do you do? Ofcom is minded towards, extending interconnect based on call conveyance for another 4 years! It believes IP is unproven for real time communications, and NGN may take ten years to fully realise. Is the regulator saying our high speed connectivity is not engineered to deliver critical services and there is no plan to do so? This is not quite what I expected from an entity soon to be charged with encouraging investment. But it is good to see the conclusions written down in such plain language.

The trick we need Ofcom to pull off is to arrange for operators to recover more of their costs and profit from the volume and quality of data carried, not calls carried, terminated or originated. Those legacy cost allocations look as arbitrary as the market definitions which separate our services. Services are increasingly bundled for retail purposes anyway, so why is there is so much religion on market definitions when there is the common currency of 'bits'.

We should be paying for basic access and connectivity (fixed and mobile), with a separate layer for services. Ofcom is justifying a good many of its views on 'protecting customers' from change. It is not the protection we need. We need protection from companies who say they cannot engineer real time services to work over generic IP transport. We need protection from Governments wishing to auction spectrum when some of that spectrum ought to be made available to those whose sole responsibility is the UK data transport infrastructure. We need protection from folk whose networks are only capable of being used for a call for help, when they need to host a full preventative and post care service. We need protection from folk who wish to implement control layers when all that is need is a properly planned and engineered data transport network. We need protection from folk who wish to recover costs on out of date infrastructure indefinitely, without the commitment to deliver the bit transport services we need.

The very success of the internet in the UK, in which Ofcom has played a significant role in creating conditions for affordable services, is as disruptive to Ofcom's market definitions as it was to BT original plan for an NGN. It took BT 5 years to change direction, Ofcom want another 5-10 years to see what happens. As the legislation is drafted to extend its powers to secure investment in the industry I hope it takes the opportunity to create a 'bit commons' for all, not a series of NGNs replicating legacy services.