What is IPC and how does it work?

[LaraC]

There are several threads where IPC is blamed for poor network performance or internet connectivity.

Unfortunately there are just as many different views on the subject which is why I’m asking for your expertise and guidance. If you don’t mind, could you give me clarity, please?

Following are some of the questions I have:

• Are all ISP’s required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?
• Are Mobile ISP’s also required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?
• Is there a difference in the price of IPC for different times of the day?
• Is there a difference in Local and International IPC?
• Is there a limitation on the availability of IPC?
• Is IPC hardware or software?

I'm looking forward to your valuable input and thank you.

 

[Thor]

/subscribes

 

[MrGray]

What an IPC does is fairly straightforward:

http://www.telkom.co.za/wholesale-web/products-and-services/ip-connect.jsp

An IPC is the only way that ISPs can connect their clients via ADSL.

As for the current pricing, I'm not sure, as most of the recent references are only to percentage decreases, but this article, although dated, might provide some insight into how the pricing works: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/35888-mweb-ipc-adsl-costs-laid-bare.html

 

[Moshidi]

/subscribes

I'll answer in my non-expert opinion. Hopefully someone corrects me where I err and we end up with some official facts..

Are all ISP’s required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?

If their traffic is going through the Telkom network (e.g. ADSL) then yes. Other fixed line solutions like fibre, no.

Are Mobile ISP’s also required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?

No

Is there a difference in the price of IPC for different times of the day?

No, it's priced according to capacity. So the ISP pays for 1Gbps for example, not 1 Terabyte.

I'm clueless on the other 3 questions.

 

[Crystal Web]

There are several threads where IPC is blamed for poor network performance or internet connectivity.

Unfortunately there are just as many different views on the subject which is why I’m asking for your expertise and guidance. If you don’t mind, could you give me clarity, please?

Following are some of the questions I have:

• Are all ISP’s required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?
• Are Mobile ISP’s also required to buy their IPC from Telkom Wholesale?
• Is there a difference in the price of IPC for different times of the day?
• Is there a difference in Local and International IPC?
• Is there a limitation on the availability of IPC?
• Is IPC hardware or software?

I'm looking forward to your valuable input and thank you.

What is IPC?

IPC is a product Telkom offer to ISPs for capacity on their network. Without it each ISP would require their own national network and last mile connections, which until recently was not even legal to build. It is the only national, last mile network with sufficient coverage to offer a national ADSL service to consumers. Why it is the only one is a long and difficult answer.

Mobile?

No, mobile operators own their own last mile networks (the wireless part of their network). Behind the scenes, many cellular towers still utilise the core Telkom national network though, which is what you see the mobile CEOs complaining about in various articles and interviews.

Time of day difference in price?

No, unfortunately not. It is a set price, for a certain amount of throughput, no matter the time of day.

Local vs international?

There is no international IPC. There are international cables, that an ISP must further purchase capacity on in order to 1) offer true internet services from and to global sources; and 2) to offer redundancy if one link goes down.

Limitations?

Yes and no. You can purchase as much as you want, if there is sufficient infrastructure at the internet exchange at which you will be provisioning capacity from. IPC is a complex product in that it's not simply a switch you turn on or off, or a piece of software you use to increase the throughput. There must be sufficient capacity on the network, and there must be sufficient infrastructure at the internet exchange it is purchased at. There are hundreds of locations where an ISP can provision IPC from, but typically only 4 major "hubs/exchanges" are used, as ISPs rely on peering at these points to interconnect with each other's networks.

Hardware or software?

Both.

 

[Moshidi]

^^ Well put

 

[MickeyD]

What is IPC?

IPC is a product Telkom offer to ISPs for capacity on their network. Without it each ISP would require their own national network and last mile connections, which until recently was not even legal to build.

Great reply, DJ...

Mind putting the bold part into a bit more perspective?

 

[LaraC]

Excellent replies so far, and a special thank you to Crystal Web.

However, I love questions and I’ve got an ample supply to work through.

• Does Telkom Wholesale oversell IPC?
• If an ISP purchase insufficient IPC for their client base will it lead to poor network performance or internet experience?
• Is IPC availability the only reason why ISP’s want their clients to schedule large downloads during off peak times?
• What will the impact be on IPC if an ISP’s entire client base are connected at a given moment?
• Do ISP’s give IPC preference to capped and business accounts?

 

[marine1]

What is IPC?

IPC is a product Telkom offer to ISPs for capacity on their network. Without it each ISP would require their own national network and last mile connections, which until recently was not even legal to build. It is the only national, last mile network with sufficient coverage to offer a national ADSL service to consumers. Why it is the only one is a long and difficult answer.

Mobile?

No, mobile operators own their own last mile networks (the wireless part of their network). Behind the scenes, many cellular towers still utilise the core Telkom national network though, which is what you see the mobile CEOs complaining about in various articles and interviews.

Time of day difference in price?

No, unfortunately not. It is a set price, for a certain amount of throughput, no matter the time of day.

Local vs international?

There is no international IPC. There are international cables, that an ISP must further purchase capacity on in order to 1) offer true internet services from and to global sources; and 2) to offer redundancy if one link goes down.

Limitations?

Yes and no. You can purchase as much as you want, if there is sufficient infrastructure at the internet exchange at which you will be provisioning capacity from. IPC is a complex product in that it's not simply a switch you turn on or off, or a piece of software you use to increase the throughput. There must be sufficient capacity on the network, and there must be sufficient infrastructure at the internet exchange it is purchased at. There are hundreds of locations where an ISP can provision IPC from, but typically only 4 major "hubs/exchanges" are used, as ISPs rely on peering at these points to interconnect with each other's networks.

Hardware or software?

Both.

Nice and fast reply.

 

[MickeyD]

Excellent replies so far, and a special thank you to Crystal Web.

However, I love questions and I’ve got an ample supply to work through.

• 1. Does Telkom Wholesale oversell IPC?
• 2. If an ISP purchase insufficient IPC for their client base will it lead to poor network performance or internet experience?
• 3. Is IPC availability the only reason why ISP’s want their clients to schedule large downloads during off peak times?
• 4. What will the impact be on IPC if an ISP’s entire client base are connected at a given moment?
• 5. Do ISP’s give IPC preference to capped and business accounts?

1. No
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. A severely congested network, as ISPs usually use a 20:1 contention ratio.
5. Yes. Business, Capped, Uncapped.

Clarification:
#4 - that is if they are all going to stream or download, etc. at the same time. Browsing will be OK.

 

[LaraC]

All the answers in one place, cool and thank you MickeyD.

• When Telkom Wholesale upgrade the minimum network speed to 4Mbps will it cause IPC problems/shortfalls?
• With the upgrade will the ISP’s be under pressure to purchase more IPC to accommodate the higher demand?
• Is IPC capacity expanded in relation to the client base?
• Do ISP’s provide redundancy when their primary IPC fails?
• Has it ever happened that there was a total collapse in IPC availability in South Africa?

 

[MickeyD]

All the answers in one place, cool and thank you MickeyD.

• 1. When Telkom Wholesale upgrade the minimum network speed to 4Mbps will it cause IPC problems/shortfalls?
• 2. With the upgrade will the ISP’s be under pressure to purchase more IPC to accommodate the higher demand?
• 3. Is IPC capacity expanded in relation to the client base?
• 4. Do ISP’s provide redundancy when their primary IPC fails?
• 5. Has it ever happened that there was a total collapse in IPC availability in South Africa?

1. Possibly, yes. ISPs do not have to increase their packages for free so many customers may remain on their current ISP packages.
2. Only if more customers are willing to pay for the higher priced ISP packages.
3. Theoretically, yes.
4. No.
5. For very, very short periods of time, yes. (minutes, maybe hours not days/months).

 

[Crystal Web]

Great reply, DJ...

Mind putting the bold part into a bit more perspective?

I'm going to let Paul tackle this one a bit later, as I have some rather strong views on this one and this topic is perhaps best left to facts and not my emotions about the repercussions of what the facts resulted in.

It should also be noted that IPC is not the only solution to a national ADSL network. The following also applies:

Build your own network: but who can really afford to do this? I can think of 3 businesses in a possible position to do so. Worth the risk? Unlikely. The opportunity was missed now that the technology has evolved. Other operators are now building their national networks and it ain't ADSL they're building for.
BitStream: also getting a little late for this. The product is ready to be switched on, but there seems to be this impression that BitStream would massively reduce costs somehow - it won't, really. It also comes with its own problems.

 

[Crystal Web]

Excellent replies so far, and a special thank you to Crystal Web.

However, I love questions and I’ve got an ample supply to work through.

• Does Telkom Wholesale oversell IPC?
• If an ISP purchase insufficient IPC for their client base will it lead to poor network performance or internet experience?
• Is IPC availability the only reason why ISP’s want their clients to schedule large downloads during off peak times?
• What will the impact be on IPC if an ISP’s entire client base are connected at a given moment?
• Do ISP’s give IPC preference to capped and business accounts?

Overselling IPC?

No. Not investing in the internet exchange where the IPC is provisioned? Yes, but this isn't all Telkom, in their defence. There is an industry body who should be ensuring that this isn't an issue.

Reduced quality due to oversold capacity?

Yes.

Large download scheduling?

It's simply about balancing costs and network performance. If you can balance usage across all hours you are running an efficient network, and an efficient business. You purchase capacity based on peak load, so if this peak can reduce you can offer better performance for the same price.

All connected at once?

IP availability is an issue. IP ranges from AfriNic are a rare commodity still. And expensive, too. But if those same users were all downloading, your network would have massive contention issues - you cannot plan a network for full capacity for all customers at all times at reasonable contentions - you'd essentially be selling raw capacity with contention management. In other words you'd have to charge thousands and thousands of Rands per month per every few Mbps.

IPC preference?

Interesting question. Network preference, yes, and it depends on the business and the products. Remember that not all ISPs use the home vs business distinction. We do, but in the true sense. Recently ISPs started muddying the waters, by intentionally marketing and selling "business" accounts to consumers. We prefer to put together proper consumer packages instead, by understanding the dynamics of consumer internet demand and matching it with appropriate uncapped products. Let's face it, we did (and hated) caps in the early days of the internet. We've finally achieved a pricing point where actual uncapped is sustainable, and we should be encouraging development of these products rather than stupidly complex capped accounts. In my personal opinion, that is.

 

[DTBA]

The software used to throttle and shape by an isp. Is this done by switches or software? Must each ISP develop its own way or its there a way to buyout a product from other isp or a template?

 

[Crystal Web]

The software used to throttle and shape by an isp. Is this done by switches or software? Must each ISP develop its own way or its there a way to buyout a product from other isp or a template?

Both, and it's controlled by systems and algorithms. The systems you can buy "off-the-shelf" but require massive amounts of customisation to work on our hardware/network infrastructure - the algorithms you can't, but depending on the system you invest in, can be made much easier to manage to the point where you can create shaping policies by point and click if implemented correctly. This is on a very basic level though. Shaping and how it is / can be performed is a very complicated process, and is very much tied to a costing model, statistics, historical data, and testing.

 

[DTBA]

Both, and it's controlled by systems and algorithms. The systems you can buy "off-the-shelf" but require massive amounts of customisation to work on our hardware/network infrastructure - the algorithms you can't, but depending on the system you invest in, can be made much easier to manage to the point where you can create shaping policies by point and click if implemented correctly. This is on a very basic level though. Shaping and how it is / can be performed is a very complicated process, and is very much tied to a costing model, statistics, historical data, and testing.

Thanks DJ , makes me understand better why its so hard for you guys

 

[LaraC]

Thank you to all the contributors for giving me a better understanding of IPC.
I’m sure that if users understood the complexities of network infrastructure it will go a long way in building good relations between them and ISP’s.

Thank you Crystal Web, getting first-hand information from an ISP is truly appreciated. By the way, I’m not Crystal Web client but, if this is how you communicate with your clients you’ll have lots of happy surfers.

 

[Thor]

By the way, I’m not Crystal Web client but, if this is how you communicate with your clients you’ll have lots of happy surfers.

I think I need to move ever since I ditched afrihost for lack of transparency I think CW just won over my wallet.

 

[Impregim]

Well, there you have it. Plain and simple explanation, + constructed description of facts from CW.

Not just 'another' ISP that jumps onto the bandwagon before doing their "homework" - from my limited knowledge working with various IP-Networks abroad, they Invested, planned, tested, ironing out hiccups from user feedback over time, I can only foresee an even more bright future for CrystalWeb.

Well done Guys,

Impz'