Shedding Light on the Internet: Stakeholders and Network Neutrality

Abstract

Abstract-The latest impressive technological advancements in the telecommunications domain have entailed the involvement of new network operators andOver-the-Top (OTT) providers that offer their services over the existing networks. This entry of new stakeholders has changed the Internet dynamics and triggered a long-standing conversation on whether different types of data in the network should be prioritized, also known as the network neutrality debate. On the one hand, OTT providers benefit from the current neutral Internet policy of not discriminating against any application or content in order to transfer their data for free, whereas network providers would like to seize the business opportunity and create revenues by supporting the prioritized delivery of data. In this article, we want to shed some light on the emerging Internet ecosystem and the conflicting interests of its stakeholders. To that end, we first identify the different Internet players and describe their interrelationships. Furthermore, in an effort to offer a new perspective on the network neutrality debate, we propose two novel econometric models that employ recent financial data to capture the relationship between the OTT revenues and the financial gains and investments of the telecommunication operators. Our empirical results provide tangible answers to fundamental questions that had not been answered before, showcasing that OTT and telecommunication providers have aligned interests and their collaboration could be beneficial to both parties.

IoT’s Tiny Steps towards 5G: Telco’s Perspective

“…(2) What are the performance requirements of such IoT application classes? (3) Which enabling technologies in the radio access part of the 5G network can be used to meet the requirements of IoT application classes?…”

“…Review paper [1,2,10,12, Technical paper [8, Research effectiveness [3][4][5][6][7]9,[11][12][13]29,52, (a) (b) Phase II included the analysis and comparison of papers related to the category of IoT in 5G service classification. Papers were first sorted according to the existing classification criteria of IoT applications in order to underline their deficiencies from telco's perspective.…”

“…However, there is no common opinion which components constitute a business model. The business model architecture can be illustrated by four dimensions [22]: (1) who, identifying the definition of the target customer as one central dimension in designing a new business model; (2) what, describing what is offered to the target customer; (3) how, referring to the construction and distribution of the value proposition; (4) value, explaining why the business model is financially viable. Answering these four questions allows the creation of IoT business models.…”

“…Recent work of regulatory agencies and the appearance of alternative service providers have led telecom operators to form the opinion that alternative service providers have conflicting interests and provide competitive services, thus decreasing telco's revenue from traditional services [1]. However, the latest econometric analysis presented in [2] has shown that telecom operators and alternative service providers have aligned interests and their collaboration could be favorable to both parties. The interests of alternative service providers and telcos are not inevitably conflicting, since the economic growth of the alternative service providers are positively correlated with telco revenues and vice versa.…”

Software Defined Network Service Chaining for OTT Service Providers in 5G Networks

“…Allowing the OSPs' intervention in NSC implies their access in NSPs' network resources, which can be financially advantageous for both parties. As their revenues seem to be correlated, achieving high OTT QoS can be also to the NSPs' best interest, if the OSP-NSP cooperation is balanced, e.g., through negotiation of agreements that regulate the degree of OSPs' intervention and sharing of gains [6].…”