The economics of internet peering interconnections

The Internet at the interdomain level is a complex network of approximately 50,000 Autonomous Systems (ASes). ASes interconnect through two types of links: (a) transit (customer-provider) and (b) peering links. Recent studies have shown that despite being optional for most ASes, a rich and dynamic peering fabric exists among ASes. Peering has also grown as one of the main instruments for catching up with asymmetric traffic due to CDNs, online video traffic, performance requirements, etc. Moreover, peering has been in the spotlight recently because of peering conflicts between major ISPs and Content Providers. Such conflicts have led to calls for intervention by communication regulators and legislation at the highest levels of government. Peering disputes have also sometimes resulted in partitioning of the Internet. Despite the broad interest and intense debate about peering, several fundamental questions remain elusive. The objective of this thesis is to study peering from a techno-economics perspective. We explore the following questions: 1- What are the main sources of complexity in Internet peering that defy the development of an automated approach to assess peering relationships? 2- What is the current state of the peering ecosystem, e.g., which categories of ASes are more inclined towards peering? What are the most popular peering strategies among ASes in the Internet? 3- What can we say about the economics of contemporary peering practices, e.g., what is the impact of using different peering traffic ratios as a strategy to choose peers? Is the general notion that peering saves network costs, always valid? 4- Can we propose novel methods for peering that result in more stable and fair peering interconnections? We have used game-theoretic modeling, large-scale computational agent-based modeling, and analysis of publicly available peering data to answer the above questions. The main contributions of this thesis include: 1- Identification of fundamental complexities underlying the evaluation of peers and formation of stable peering links in the interdomain network. 2- An empirical study of the state of the peering ecosystem from August 2010 to August 2013. 3- Development of a large-scale agent-based computational model to study the formation and evolution of Internet peering interconnections. 4- A plausible explanation for the gravitation of Internet transit providers towards Open peering and a prediction of its future consequences. 5- We propose a variant of the Open peering policy and a new policy based on cost-benefit analysis to replace the contemporary simplistic policies.Ph.D

International economic law and the digital divide : a new silk road?

PhDThe failure of the trade negotiations at Seattle, and the collapse of the negotiations at Doha have bought increased attention to the issue of development, aid, and the implementation of special and differential rights in favour of developing countries. This thesis looks to examine one aspect of the many issues facing developed and developing countries in the negotiations that lie ahead, specifically how international economic law can be used in the application of technological processes to help address the Digital Divide. At present, there is an emphasis on development and the needs of developing countries, and that such development needs to be sustainable. Research reviewed in Chapter 2 indicates that growing information technology levels leads to growth of GDP. Importantly the use of ICT‘s will foster growth in the trade of electronic goods and services (electronic intangibles). By making positive attempts to reduce the Digital Divide, DCs and LDCs will be in a better position to access the necessary ICTs required to help grow GDP and facilitate sustainable development. The thesis sets out various measures to help reduce the digital divide and founded in international economic law. Central to the thesis is a new Layering Theory that the Author argues will assist operators (both incumbents and Independent Service Providers) in the developing world to gain access to international backbone Internet networks at cost price, one of the main impediments to reducing the international digital divide. The Layering Theory sets out a procedure for accurately identifying the relevant market for providers of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) and services so that those operators who abuse their dominance by refusing to supply an interconnection service or access to a digital network can be compelled to interconnect their networks to those smaller domestic or third country Internet Service Providers (ISP) operators who require access. By gaining access/interconnection in this way, operators in DCs and LDCs will be in a much better position to take advantage of cheaper production costs to export electronic intangibles overseas. Also, the thesis sets out recommendations for reform of international telecommunications, new provisions on technology transfer to help DCs and LDCs access the ICTs needed to address the Digital Divide, including provisions on technology transfer found in the increasing take-up of bilateral and regional trade agreements—and if there is to be free trade in e-commerce—recommendations for reform of current WTO rules on the classification of electronic goods and services. However, the thesis also argues that the digital divide cannot be addressed without strengthening the human capital base in developing and least developed countries, and that this cannot happen without such states also giving greater effect to the enforcement of civil and political, and economic, social and cultural rights ―at home‖. The thesis asks whether it is possible to define a relationship in IEL between civil and political, and economic social and cultural rights as a collective for example in the form of the much debated and somewhat controversial Right to Development (the ―RTD‖ as defined in this thesis) on the one hand, with economic indicators, such Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the other? And if so, how the RTD can be operationalise

Individual Mobile Communication Services and Tariffs

Individual services and tariffs existed briefly in the beginning of telecommunications history 150 years ago but faded away over time. Service provisioning evolved into the current supplier-centric situation which has many limitations and disadvantages. This thesis re-embraces the user-centric service provisioning and tariffing philosophy and applies it to current mobile communication services setting, which differs significantly in scale and scope from the historical practices. A design methodology and tool for the determination of individualized mobile services and tariffs is provided, and benefits to both the user and the supplier are evaluated. The design has three aspects. The first involves the construction of a conceptual framework consisting of the behavioral models of the user and the supplier (firm) and a game theoretical negotiation mechanism to determine individual services and tariffs. Second is the operationalization of the conceptual framework in a computational design with methods, computational models, negotiation algorithms, risk metrics and a prototype implementation. Third is the extension of the individual services and tariffs concept to a community setting via a proposed community business model. Two evaluations are performed. First, for the firm-based design, a user survey is conducted and computational cases, that address value-added mobile services and generic mobile service bundles, are developed. The numerical analyses show that the users always achieve gains in utility. The benefits to the supplier include adjustable risk-profit equilibrium points, increased network traffic and reduced churn. Second, two case studies on communities are conducted. The results demonstrate that the proposed business model of community-based individual service provisioning and tariffing can meet the demands of their members precisely and address both affordability and sustainability issues. Last, a specific engineering implementation and integration of the individualized service and tariff design tools into the existing infrastructure of the communication services suppliers is proposed. Further research issues are pointed out

The Dynamics of the Media and Contents Industries: A Synthesis

Chapters 1 and 2 of this report deal with the evolution of the media and contents sector towards a digital world, documenting the evolution of the strategy of the legacy players from a defensive behaviour to a more proactive one, striking deals with new entrants, creating new products online. They also explore the disruptions and underline the positive changes that took place recently and the weaving of new interactions between legacy players and new entrants. Chapter 3 focuses on core economic issues such as the costs structure and the mechanisms of value creation. Chapter 4 describes the business models, highlighting some of the innovative ones adapted to a digital world. Chapter 5 concentrates on other trends such as patterns of consumption and production and follows the evolution of the labour force. Chapter 6 deals with infrastructure as the enabler of the transformation has undergone and takes a closer look at the recent changes that have affected the telecom-IT ecosystem in order to identify the trends that are most likely to impact the content sector in the future. Chapters 7 and 8 introduce regulatory and policy issues. Chapter 7 relates to the funding of creation and the protection of creation (copyright as asset management) and innovation. Chapter 8 concentrates on the protection of consumers and competition.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Rethinking business models for innovation

One of the major challenges confronted by those in charge of technological innovation involves anticipating the value creation model sufficiently early on,in a highly uncertain context both as far as the technology itself is concerned and the potential market. Today, in many industrial sectors, the innovation boundaries have moved towards projects that are more and more exploratory and fuzzy. The simple optimisation of linear processes of the "stage-gate" type is no longer sufficient to build sustainable competitive advantages. The notion of Business Models, when applied to innovation, enables us to describe how a company creates value through innovation, generally within a business ecosystem, and how the value will be distributed between the actors involved. The authors of this book believe that the notions of Business Modelling and value creation are key to all the dimensions of successful innovation, whether technology, marketing, organisational or economically based. Rethinking Business Models for Innovation: this title describes the relationship between thinking, modelling, and also field-testing. The book is based on a series of nine recent cases of innovation involving company managers, often assisted by researchers (the co-authors of each chapter), and how they built and formalised their Business Models and then tested their strategies. After having discovered the variety of the cases, the reader will understand that every innovation situation generates specific questions about Business Models. However, we feel that we can identify three key issues that arise, more or less, in each of these projects. The chapters in this book build on these issues: the identification of sources of value and revenue models (the notion of value creation), the position of the company in the value-network or ecosystem (the sharing of value) and finally the evolution of Business MoDdels over time (the sustainability and the competitiveness of the company). The last chapter goes over all the contributions, exploring the notion of value in the Business Model approach.business model ; innovation ; value ; entrepreneurial project

Emulation of Equal Open Access and Competition Creation in the Wireline Telecommunications Local and Last Mile Market Segments

Expanded telecommunications was deemed a serious need for end users. The Local Market and Last Mile market segments have largely consolidated into natural utilities . Competition and access problems occur if new providers enter the local market and desire competitive access and service to end users. Local and last mile telecommunications market structures are believed to be significantly responsible for inhibiting achievement of a more perfect marketplace. The purpose of this study was to examine potential solutions from laboratory network emulation results addressing the research question Can equal open access and competition for all users be created in the telecommunications local and last mile segments? Emulations for 63 local and last mile models were designed and grouped into 16 scenarios. An observation questionnaire was designed to provide further qualitative data regarding the models. The experiment was constructed and attempted to be operated, but the SOHO routers representing telecommunications marketplace participants could not be properly configured to successfully network with each other to provide Traceroute data for validity and verification purposes. Observation data was obtained and was classified into groups and used to create model filters regarding optimal local market competition, provider interconnectivity, and four types of last mile provision. All of the models were filtered and scored. Those with the lowest scores (best attributes) were considered to be the leading candidates to address the research question. Further discussion involved opportunities for continued research, application of the findings in real telecommunication markets, and possibilities of why the emulation failed