FCC “fast lane”: the tipping point for intelligent network monitoring
We are in the middle of a tectonic industry transformation impacting consumer video and Internet service. Last week’s announcement of AT&T’s $48.5bn plan to merge with DirecTV is the most recent sign of this shift; Comcast announced its proposal to merge with Time Warner for $45bn earlier this year. Netflix struck deals to directly connect to Comcast and Verizon servers to improve streaming video quality. And the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently moved forward on its “fast lane” proposal.
This leaves me wondering about the impact of these changes on the network. AT&T, Comcast, and Netflix understand the high value of owning content and its delivery. The market recognizes video as the bandwidth hog, but approval of the FCC fast lane proposal and the deals Netflix struck are examples advancing the demand for network monitoring.
These challenges were highlighted by JDSU during its April 30 earnings call and my follow-up conversation with David Heard, JDSU’s executive vice president and president of network & service enablement. Agreements like the one between Comcast and Netflix can be viewed as emerging opportunities for companies like JDSU that ensure, for example, that service-level agreements (SLA) are met. As Heard explains, JDSU has been developing solutions to address today’s challenges: network complexity, the need for real-time information, scalability, application awareness, and selectivity given large volumes of data.
What’s brewing in the background is the likely impact of the FCC’s proposal on the demand for intelligent monitoring. While “fast” speed is being used as a catch-all indicator of service quality, other attributes might be more appropriate. Given that the definition of quality varies by application, application-independent verification will be needed to ensure a minimum quality of service.
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