Bit stream access
Encyclopedia
Bit-stream access refers to the situation where a wireline incumbent
installs a high-speed access link to the customers premises (e.g., by installing ADSL equipment in the local access network) and then makes this access link available to third parties, to enable them to provide high speed services to customers. This type of access does not entail any third-party access to the copper pair in the local loop
.
The incumbent may also provide transmission services to its competitors, using its ATM
or IP network, to carry competitors' traffic from the DSLAM to a higher level in the network hierarchy where new entrants may already have a point of presence
(e.g. a transit switch location). Bit-stream handover points thus can be at various levels:
Bit-stream access is nowadays considered a key tool for opening competition in the broadband
market. It enables competitors to offer their own products to consumers even if they do not operate the local loop (the last mile). Bit stream access allows the new entrant to use the high-speed modems and other equipment provided by the incumbent and thus avoid maintenance and investments into the local loop. This affects the economics of the service and places restrictions on the type of modems that the customer of the new entrant can buy or rent.
The main elements defining bit-stream access are the following:
Thus, bit-stream access is a wholesale product consisting of the access (typically ADSL) and “backhaul
” services of the (data) backbone network (ATM, IP backbone).
, the provision of bit-stream access services is not mandated under European Union
law, but where an incumbent operator provides bit-stream DSL services to its own services, subsidiary or third party, then, in accordance with community law, it must also provide such forms of access under transparent and non-discriminatory terms or conditions to others (Directive 98/10/EC Article 16).
Note: bit-stream access service allows the incumbent to retain control of the rate of deployment of high-speed access services, and the geographical regions in which these service are rolled out. From the regulatory point of view, such services are therefore seen as complementing the other forms of unbundled access, but not substituting them.
Wireline incumbent
Usually one telephone company, known as the wireline incumbent, owns the telephone lines in a particular location. Incumbents have structural advantages over challengers. In the case of Wireline Incumbent Carriers, this segment captured 52 percent, or $20.9 billion, of total communications service...
installs a high-speed access link to the customers premises (e.g., by installing ADSL equipment in the local access network) and then makes this access link available to third parties, to enable them to provide high speed services to customers. This type of access does not entail any third-party access to the copper pair in the local loop
Local loop
In telephony, the local loop is the physical link or circuit that connects from the demarcation point of the customer premises to the edge of the carrier or telecommunications service provider's network...
.
The incumbent may also provide transmission services to its competitors, using its ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
or IP network, to carry competitors' traffic from the DSLAM to a higher level in the network hierarchy where new entrants may already have a point of presence
Point of presence
A point of presence is an artificial demarcation point or interface point between communications entities. It may include a meet-me-room.In the US, this term became important during the court-ordered breakup of the Bell Telephone system...
(e.g. a transit switch location). Bit-stream handover points thus can be at various levels:
- Handover at DSLAM
- Handover at ATM-PoP
- Handover at IP level
Bit-stream access is nowadays considered a key tool for opening competition in the broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
market. It enables competitors to offer their own products to consumers even if they do not operate the local loop (the last mile). Bit stream access allows the new entrant to use the high-speed modems and other equipment provided by the incumbent and thus avoid maintenance and investments into the local loop. This affects the economics of the service and places restrictions on the type of modems that the customer of the new entrant can buy or rent.
The main elements defining bit-stream access are the following:
- High-speed access link to the customer premises (end user part) provided by the incumbent and transmission capacity for broadband data in both direction enabling new entrants to offer their own, value-added services to end users;
- New entrants have the possibility to differentiate their services by altering technical characteristics and/or the use of their own network;
Thus, bit-stream access is a wholesale product consisting of the access (typically ADSL) and “backhaul
Backhaul (telecommunications)
In a hierarchical telecommunications network the backhaul portion of the network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone, of the network and the small subnetworks at the "edge" of the entire hierarchical network...
” services of the (data) backbone network (ATM, IP backbone).
EU regulation
Unlike unbundled accessUnbundled Access
Unbundled access is an often practiced form of regulation during liberalization, where new entrants of the market are offered access to facilities of the incumbent, that are hard to duplicate...
, the provision of bit-stream access services is not mandated under European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
law, but where an incumbent operator provides bit-stream DSL services to its own services, subsidiary or third party, then, in accordance with community law, it must also provide such forms of access under transparent and non-discriminatory terms or conditions to others (Directive 98/10/EC Article 16).
Note: bit-stream access service allows the incumbent to retain control of the rate of deployment of high-speed access services, and the geographical regions in which these service are rolled out. From the regulatory point of view, such services are therefore seen as complementing the other forms of unbundled access, but not substituting them.