Traffic Management Policies

By Shahrum Gilani
Posted: July 6, 2018

For many of us, our smartphones have become increasingly important in our lives. We use them to browse the web, watch videos, listen to music and access services on a daily basis.

As demand for internet services has increased, UK mobile network providers have adopted different ways of managing the traffic on their networks. The following guide explains these traffic management policies, and how they may affect users.

What is traffic management?

Traffic management allows mobile network providers to alleviate congestion and handle traffic more efficiently on their networks. It involves using techniques and technologies to temporarily alter the way users receive internet services.

For example, under certain circumstances, network providers may artificially limit the maximum download speed available, prioritise certain types of traffic over others, or block or slow down some types of content.

Why do mobile networks use traffic management?

Users are consuming more bandwidth-heavy internet content, like videos and games, and as a result mobile networks are likely to experience congestion issues. Network congestion could result in a degradation of the quality of the internet services provided to users.

Traffic management is a strategy for easing this congestion in a bid to improve the overall quality and consistency of mobile internet services.

How does traffic management affect users?

Users may occasionally experience a slowing in mobile internet speeds or a loss of quality in internet content, but this can also happen for other reasons. For example, your internet might slow down if you’re in a location with poor 4G coverage, or at a crowded event like a concert or festival where thousands of smartphones are jostling for the same signal. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to tell whether your internet has been slowed artificially by your network provider, or if it’s slowed down for another reason.

Following concerns that providers could use traffic management techniques to gain a competitive advantage, new EU rules came into force in 2016 meaning that internet providers must treat all traffic on their networks equally. They are not allowed to slow down, block or otherwise discriminate between traffic on their network, unless it’s necessary to enable them to comply with their legal obligations, protect the security of the network or manage congestion in exceptional circumstances, like emergencies.

Network providers are, however, allowed to use reasonable measures to manage traffic to keep the network running efficiently and optimise the overall quality of the service.

How can users find out about their network provider’s traffic management policies?

Under EU rules, network providers are required, as part of their contracts with users, to explain their use of traffic management and how it may impact the services they provide. They must also make this information available publicly. Each network and service provider uses slightly different measures to manage traffic. We look at two examples of traffic management policies for major network providers to see how they work in practice.

Vodafone

Vodafone’s traffic management policy shows that Vodafone doesn’t use traffic management in any significant way. The policy states that:

Vodafone would only block or slow down its internet service in the event of activity harmful to its network.
At congestion and peak times it prioritises voice calls over internet traffic to maintain audio quality and to ensure emergency services calls can get through.
Adult services are locked by default, but can be unlocked by users over 18. No other services, content or applications are blocked.

Three

Three’s traffic management policy states that it uses traffic management in certain circumstances. It states that:

In roaming destinations in Europe, Three provides streaming at standard definition and reduces the speed of peer-to-peer and VPN services. This only applies to some of its plans. Customers affected by these measures can buy a data add-on that provides unrestricted data.
In roaming destinations outside Europe, Three imposes the same measures as above on all plans. Again, customers can purchase an add-on that allows them to use data unrestricted.
On some plans, Three allocates a dedicated amount of bandwidth to tethering, to make sure it doesn’t compromise other services.

It also states in Three’s terms and conditions that:

In congested areas and at busy times, Three may manage the speed of things like file sharing, software updates and some downloads, as these activities can slow down its service. At these times, these activities may be slower than usual.

You can find out more about traffic management from communications regulator Ofcom.