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Ubiquitous broadband access is considered by many to be necessary for the
Internet to realize its full potential. But there is no generally accepted definition of
what constitutes broadband access. Furthermore, there is only limited
understanding of how the quality of end-to-end broadband Internet services
might be assured in today?s nascent multi-service, multi-provider environment.
The absence of generally accepted and standardized service definitions and
mechanisms for assuring service quality is a significant barrier to competitive
broadband access markets.
In the business data services market and in the core of the Internet, this
problem has been addressed, in part, by increased reliance on Service Level
Agreements (SLAs). These SLAs provide a mechanism for service providers and
customers to flexibly specify the quality of service (QoS) that will be delivered.
When used in conjunction with the new standards-based technical solutions for
implementing QoS, these SLAs are helping to facilitate the development of robust
wholesale markets for backbone transport services and content delivery services
for commercial customers. The emergence of bandwidth traders, brokers, and
exchanges provide an institutional and market-based framework to support
effective competition. |
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