A Broadband Access Market Framework: Towards Consumer Service Level Agreements

Ubiquitous broadband access is considered by many to be necessary for theInternet to realize its full potential. But there is no generally accepted definition ofwhat constitutes broadband access. Furthermore, there is only limitedunderstanding of how the quality of end-to-end broadband Internet servicesmight be assured in today?s nascent multi-service, multi-provider environment.The absence of generally accepted and standardized service definitions andmechanisms for assuring service quality is a significant barrier to competitivebroadband access markets.In the business data services market and in the core of the Internet, thisproblem has been addressed, in part, by increased reliance on Service LevelAgreements (SLAs). These SLAs provide a mechanism for service providers andcustomers to flexibly specify the quality of service (QoS) that will be delivered.When used in conjunction with the new standards-based technical solutions forimplementing QoS, these SLAs are helping to facilitate the development of robustwholesale markets for backbone transport services and content delivery servicesfor commercial customers. The emergence of bandwidth traders, brokers, andexchanges provide an institutional and market-based framework to supporteffective competition.