Hosted Communications

Telefonica International Wholesale Services, a subsidiary of Telefonica Group, recently conducted a field test of the company’s broadband network in Peru, evaluating its peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol technology, P4P.

 

Results from the test showed that the P4P protocols had a positive impact on network efficiency, achieved by shifting traffic from external to internal links and by routing the internal traffic shorter distances across the network.

 

When calculated, the amount of data that was delivered from internal versus external links increased by 268 percent. Also, the data that traveled across the internal Telefonica network used fewer network links to travel, hence displaying a result of reduced load on the network backbone. Specifically, with P4P protocols, "cross-metro" data delivery went up from 1 percent to 36 percent. Additionally, the distance, in terms of metro hop count, was reduced by 57 percent from 3.78 to 1.62.

 

"We are very pleased with the positive indication of our initial P4P test results for global ISPs, with multi-domestic broadband operations, and unique requirements for optimizing internal and external traffic loading," said Emilio Sepulveda, senior manager at Telefonica Wholesale’s strategy and business innovation division, in a statement. "We look forward to expanding our tests to involve larger operations in Europe and elsewhere as the next phase of Telefonica's participation in the P4P Working Group (P4PWG)."

 

The field test used technology that was gained from research done by Haiyong Xie and his colleagues from the Laboratory of Networked Systems (LANS) at Yale University. The initial experimental software was developed by Xie and then was further taken up by LANS and Pando Networks. The testing environment was provided by Telefonica Wholesale. The protocols and specifications are being shared among other ISPs and P2P companies within the P4PWG, sponsored by the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA).

 

The new technology has far-reaching consequences, as one of the direct results of P4P is that it makes the Internet a more scalable media distribution platform. This is accomplished while taking advantage of various online media constituencies. The technology will assist ISPs reduce network operating costs in addition to enabling content owners to distribute longer form, higher quality content.

 

"Telefonica showed great industry leadership with its early involvement in the P4P Working Group and by being the first international ISP to test P4P protocols," said Robert Levitan, CEO of Pando Networks. "Pando is proud to work with companies such as Telefonica. Our work together can fulfill the vision of the Internet as the world's most robust media distribution platform."