BILL AND KEEP ALTERNATIVES

Imagine a world where network operators were rewarded fairly for carrying traffic originating elsewhere, and that actively encouraged different carriers to partner with each other – and with content providers – to provide consumers with richer and vastly improved network services.

It’s a world away from the Bill and Keep model of the Internet, where the common carrier that provides access to the Internet bills for this service AND keeps all the payment, regardless of what other carriers may be involved in actually carrying the traffic to its ultimate destination. Unpaid and unrecognized for their contribution to the delivery of the service, supporting carriers treat such traffic as a hot potato – getting rid of it any way they can, and with little attention to how it is handled.

Consider the analogy of an airline. As a customer, you pay Airline A to get you from New York to Melbourne. However, Airline A doesn’t fly the whole way to Melbourne. You will have to swap to Airline B in Los Angeles and Airline C in Sydney, who will take you to your final destination in Melbourne. (Much like the way traffic is passed on from one carrier to the next).

The first leg of your journey would doubtless be very comfortable – after all, you’ve paid Airline A to get you there on time and in one piece, not to mention well-fed and rested. Under the Bill and Keep scenario, however, there is no guarantee that the next two legs of your journey will be so enjoyable.

As neither Airline B nor C gets paid anything for helping you get to Melbourne, they have no personal interest in how you are treated. Yes, they have to take you, but as for the quality of the service you’ll be offered, there’s little doubt that if indeed you do arrive in Melbourne, eventually, you’re going to be hungry.

Now imagine the alternative. When your booking is received by Airline A, an automated mechanism selects the best way to get you to Melbourne, based on what in-flight services you want and what you are prepared to pay. It may still be Airlines B and C, but this time Airline A will pay them proportionately for their contribution in helping you get to Melbourne. The quality of treatment you receive from Airlines B and C is bound to be very different now that they have a stake in your welfare (and will be subject to penalties, as part of their commercial agreement with Airline A, should they not deliver as promised). Airline A maintains control of your journey from start to finish.

Similarly, Airline A may choose to partner with other, non-airlines, to offer a completely new level of service. For example, companies specializing in genuinely edible airline food, onboard massage, or the provision of air marshals may create a whole new business out of partnering with airlines who want to offer such services as part of a whole travel experience. The airline doesn’t have to invest in new infrastructure or expertise; but simply pays its new partners for their contribution.

This is exactly what the IPsphere is doing for the world of network services. IPsphere recognizes that new more holistic approach to service delivery is needed: an approach that assumes a service will incorporate numerous technologies and components from various stakeholders. By providing a mechanism that makes partner selection frictionless and effective, and that rewards all participants for their contribution towards the delivery of a complete service, IPsphere opens the way for a wave of innovation. Service providers benefit, content providers benefit – and so, ultimately, will consumers.

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