Acorn - Redecom Conference 2011 Session: ICT Policy and Regulation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Acorn - Redecom Conference 2011

Session: ICT Policy and Regulation

“A deployment strategy for Internet Exchange Points

as part of a National Broadband Plan"

Daniel B. Cavalcanti

19 May 2011

The Internet Exchange Point (IXP)

• Set of switches/routers at a physical location (co-location).
• Networks and service providers exchange traffic:
• Peering: direct exchange between autonomous systems (no payment).
• Transit: one network carries traffic for the other (wholesale customer).
• Benefits of IXPs (positive externalities):
• Reduce costs and bandwidth requirements.
• Improve Internet topology and routing efficiency.
• Increase fault tolerance.
• Reduce latency.
• Neutral.

THE CASE FOR IXPs

• IXPs provide a level playing field for interconnection (multiple

providers present at that point, transit and peering relations possible).

• However, incumbent network backbones have no incentive to provide

neutral exchange points (given the choice, they prefer to maintain asymmetrical relation with smaller networks).

• Interconnection tends to be a standard regulatory requirement.
• Nonetheless, special requirements (such as mandatory presence at
• pen and neutral Internet Exchange Points) should be set for providers

with significant market power (SMP), or who control a special competitive bottleneck (eg. national backbones and access to submarine cables).

The Internet Exchange Point (IXP)

IXP

Transit

REGULATORY QUESTIONS

• What are the key structural problems affecting prices and

competition in the broadband market in Brazil?

• Vertically Integrated Networks (backbone, backhaul and access)
• International IP Transit

(access to submarine cables)

• How to effectively tackle these problems?
• New fiber networks (build, lease existing, auction existing, etc.)
• Internet Exchange Points (simple, inexpensive, structural)!

IXP

Currently 16 Neutral IXPs Operated by CGI.br (+4 in last 12 months) Target of +52 (at least 1 per Area Code by 2014)

Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil (Brazilian Internet Steering Committee)

Brazil 67 Telephony Area Codes

IXP = PTT (Ponto de Troca de Tráfego) INCREASE THE NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF IXPs IN BRAZIL

Target: “at least 1 per Area Code”

PTT Americana  11 Participants PTT São Paulo  185 Participants

Americana (SP): population 205.000 São Paulo (SP): population 11 Million

IXP = PTT (Ponto de Troca de Tráfego)

CONCLUSIONS

• Proposed horizontal regulatory measures in the area of

IP interconnection:

• Increase the number of IXPs and ensure wider geographic distribution.
• Mandatory presence of incumbent backbone networks at these IXPs.
• Ensure access to backbone and backhaul infrastructure by small and

medium-sized local access providers and network operators.

• Reduce cost of IP transit by providing competition at these IXPs

(if competitors present at IXP, then easy to migrate).

• Increase local peering activity.

THANK YOU! GRACIAS!

Daniel B. Cavalcanti

danbrc@gmail.com