quality of service experienced by mobile broadband users in...

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Quality of Service Experienced by MobileBroadbandusersinMyanmar1

June2016

1Thisworkwas carried outwith the aid of a grant from the International Development ResearchCentre,CanadaandtheDepartmentforInternationalDevelopmentUKandfinancialaidsupportingthepurchaseofmobiledevices from theOpenTechnology Institute,NewAmerica. TheassistanceprovidedbyPhyuPhyuThiandMyoMinAungfromtheMyanmarICTforDevelopmentOrganisation(MIDO),ChrisRitzo,CollinAndersonandGeorgiaBullen from theOpenTechnology Institute,NewAmericaandDanajaMaldeniyafromLIRNEasiaisgratefullyacknowledged.

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TableofContents

1 ExecutiveSummary..................................................................................................................3

2 Methodology...............................................................................................................................52.1 Broadbandparametersanddefinitions.................................................................................52.2 Dataplansselectedfromeachoperator.................................................................................62.3 Methodandlocations....................................................................................................................6

3 Results:ValueforMoney(MbpsperUSD,basedondownloadspeedsfromtheserverinLosAngeles)....................................................................................................................83.1 Natureoftestsite:Business........................................................................................................83.2 Natureoftestsite:Residential.................................................................................................10

4 Results:Downloadspeed,Uploadspeed,Latency&Retransmission..................134.1 Natureoftestsite:Business......................................................................................................134.1.1 Pathein,Ayeyarwaddy..........................................................................................................................134.1.2 Bago,Bago..................................................................................................................................................144.1.3 MyitKyiNa,Kachin................................................................................................................................154.1.4 Hpa-An,Kayin...........................................................................................................................................164.1.5 Mawlamyine,Mon...................................................................................................................................174.1.6 Myeik,Tanintharyi.................................................................................................................................184.1.7 Yangon,Yangon........................................................................................................................................19

4.2 Natureoftestsite:Residential.................................................................................................204.2.1 Hakha,Chin...............................................................................................................................................204.2.2 Demoso,Kayah.........................................................................................................................................214.2.3 Pakokku,Magway...................................................................................................................................224.2.4 Nyaung-U,Mandalay..............................................................................................................................234.2.5 NayPiTaw,NayPiTaw........................................................................................................................244.2.6 Sittwe,Rakhine.........................................................................................................................................254.2.7 Sagaing,Sagaing.......................................................................................................................................264.2.8 Lashio,NorthernShan..........................................................................................................................274.2.9 Hopone,SouthernShan........................................................................................................................28

5 ResultsbyoperatorbasedonNatureofTestsite(Businessv.Residential).....295.1 MPT:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)....................................................295.2 Ooredoo:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)............................................305.3 Telenor:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)..............................................315.4 MPT:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)......................................................................325.5 Ooredoo:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)..............................................................335.6 Telenor:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)...............................................................34

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1 ExecutiveSummary

MyanmarhasseentremendousgrowthintheInformationandCommunicationTechnology(ICT)sectorsince2011.ThankstomarketliberalizationthecostofaSIMcardwentfromUSD1500toUSD1withinaspanofafewyears(ASIMwithdatacostUSD200in2013).Themarketsawtwonewentrants,OoredooMyanmarandTelenorMyanmarin2013.A4thlicensehasbeenawardedtoViettel.

Research2indicates that social media is one of the main reasons people get online, withFacebookbeing themostpopular followedbyViber andTwitter. In fact, before theprices formobile SIMs and services camedown themobilephonewasbeingusedviaWiFi networks toaccess text and voice services via apps likeViber and Skype.Access to such services requiresadequateQualityofService(QoS).

The importance of non-traditional QoS parametersmust be highlighted. It is often downloadspeedthatisquotedandhighlightedasanindicatorofQoS.However,otherparametersplayanequallyimportantroledependingonwhatthebroadbandserviceisbeingusedfor(Table1).

Service Download(Mbps)

Upload(Mbps)

Latency(RoundTripTime,RTT)

(ms)

PacketLoss(%)

Browsing(Text) ++ - ++ -

Browsing(Media) +++ - ++ +

Downloading +++ - - -

Transactions - - ++ -

Streamingmedia +++ - ++ ++

VOIP + + +++ +++

Games + + +++ +++++Highlyrelevant;++Veryrelevant;+Relevant;-Irrelevant

Table1:Broadbandparametersanditsimportancefordifferentservices(Source:Gonsalves,T.A&Bharadwaj,A.2009)

Forexample,high latency (orRTT, round trip time)will result indelays for theelementsofawebpagetoload,delaysinhearingtheotherpartyduringaSkypecall,etc.3Agoodanalogyisahighway;thebandwidth(capacityavailablefordownload)isanalogoustothenumberoflaneson a highway, where as the latency depicts the distance from a start point to a destination.Various factors can affect the download speed even if latency is low and vice-versa. Thiswasevidentinourrecentdiagnostics(Figure1&Figure2)whereareaswithhighdownloadspeedsdidnotnecessarilymeasureupwellintermsoflatency.

2Ref:LIRNEasiasurveyandhttp://mmrdrs.com/2015/09/24/5-facts-about-the-internet-market-in-myanmar/3AccordingtotheInfocommDevelopmentAuthority(IDA)ofSingaporethebenchmarkforlatencyislessthan50mstoalocalserverandlessthan300mstoaninternationalserverhttps://www.ida.gov.sg/Policies-and-Regulations/Industry-and-Licensees/Standards-and-Quality-of-Service/Broadband-Access-Services/Broadband-QoS-Performance-for-Q1-2016

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MPT OoredooMyanmar TelenorMyanmar

Figure1:Averagedownloadspeed(inMbpsfromaserverinLA)forMPT,OoredooMyanmarandTelenorMyanmar(Source:LIRNEasia,2016)

MPT OoredooMyanmar TelenorMyanmar

Figure2:Averagelatency(inmstoaserverinLA)forMPT,OoredooMyanmarandTelenorMyanmar(Source:LIRNEasia2016)

Uploadspeedisanotherparameterthattraditionalhasnottakenprecedence,butwillbecomemore important as access and use of the cloud grows. This report contains detailed findings(Section0)ofourresearchforthebroadbandparametersdescribedinthemethodology(Section2).

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2 Methodology

TherearemanytoolsandmethodsthatcanbeusedtomeasurebroadbandQualityofService.Often,theunderlyingmethodologyadoptedisoneofthereasonsastowhyreadingsvastlydifferbasedonthetoolusedfortesting.4LIRNEasiaconsideredeasytoaccess,non-proprietarytoolsbeforeselectingMeasurementLab’s(M-Lab)NetworkDiagnostictool(NDT).Themethodologyand technical details of the NDT can be found at https://github.com/ndt-project/ndt/wiki/NDTTestMethodology. M-Lab is coordinated through the Open TechnologyInstituteatNewAmerica,aWashingtonDCbasedthinktank.

2.1 BroadbandparametersanddefinitionsThemetricspresentedinthisreportare:

Throughput Categorized further by download speed and upload speed, is theamount of data sent / received by the application from the TCPconnectionoverthedurationoftheTCPconnection.

Throughput=SentorReceived(bytes)/Testduration(seconds)*8/1000

Unit:Mbps

Latency (orRTT,roundtriptime)

The time taken for a packet to reach the destination server andback.Latency=Thesumofallsampledroundtriptimes/ThenumberofroundtriptimesamplesUnit:milliseconds(ms)

Retransmission Therationbetweenpacketsthathadtoberesentasaresultofloss,transmissionerrorsortimeoutsandallpacketssent.

Retransmission = No. of segments transmitted with someretransmitteddata/Totalnumberofdatasegmentstransmitted

Unit:Percentage

Table2:Broadbandparametersdefined(Source:MLab’sNDTTestMethodology5)

4Zuhyle,S.&Mirandilla-Santos,G.2015.MeasuringBroadbandPerformance:LessonsLearnt,ChallengesFaced.Availableat:http://www.cprsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CPR-south-2015_Measuring-Broadband-Performance-Lessons-Learnt-Challenges-Faced_PP21_Final.pdfandBauer,S.etal.2010.UnderstandingBroadbandSpeedMeasurements.MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Availableat:http://groups.csail.mit.edu/ana/Publications/Understanding_broadband_speed_measurements_bauer_clark_lehr_TPRC_2010.pdf5https://github.com/ndt-project/ndt/wiki/NDTTestMethodology#client-to-server-throughput-test

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2.2 DataplansselectedfromeachoperatorGiventhenegligibleavailabilityoffixedbroadbandinMyanmar,thefocuswasonthreesimilarmobiledataplansofferedbyMPT,OoredooMyanmarandTelenorMyanmar.TheSamsung J1wasusedasthetestingdeviceinallinstances.

MPT6 OoredooMyanmar7

TelenorMyanmar8

DataPlan 1.35GB Internet Monthly1.35GB

Smart InternetMonthPack1.25GB

Price MMK6500 MMK6850 MMK6600

AdvertisedSpeed Notadvertised Notadvertised Upto2Mbps

Validity 30days 30days 30days

Table3:Dataplansusedfordiagnostics,LIRNEasiaMay2016

2.3 Methodandlocations

Theresearchersconducteddiagnosticsontwoweekdaysandaweekend(4daysintotal)duringthe 2nd week inMay 2016, atmultiple times of the day (8:00, 11:00 15:00, 18:00 20:00 and23:00)soastoironoutpotentialpeak/off-peaktrafficvariations.

Researcherswereinthefollowinglocationscoveringallstates/regions(Figure3andTable4).

Ideally, multiple locations will be covered togeographically represent a state / region. However,asthisisaresource-intensiveexerciseonetownshipwas selected per state / region. Diagnostics werecarriedoutinonelocationpertownship.

Figure3:TownshipswithineachState/Region,(LIRNEasia,May2016)

6http://www.mpt.com.mm/en/product-services/mobile/internet-packages/7http://www.ooredoo.com.mm/en/Personal/Plans/Prepaid/Internet-Pack.aspx8https://www.telenor.com.mm/page/smart-internet/173

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State/Region CapitalCity

Townshipstests wereconductedin

AreainSq.Km

Population(2014Census)

Natureoftestsite

AyeyarwaddyRegion Pathein Pathein 35,031.90 6,184,829 BusinessBagoRegion Bago Bago 39,404.40 4,867,373 BusinessChinState Hakha Hakha 36,018.90 478,801 ResidentialKachinState Myit Kyi

NaMyitKyiNa 89,041.80 1,689,441 Business

KayinState Hpa-an Hpa-an 30,382.80 1,574,079 BusinessKayahState Loikaw Demoso 11,731.50 286,627 ResidentialMagwayRegion Magway Pakokku 44,820.60 3,917,055 ResidentialMandalayRegion Mandalay Nyaung-U 30,888.10 6,165,723 ResidentialMonState Mawlamyi

neMawlamyine 12,296.60 2,054,393 Business

NayPyiTaw Naypyitaw Naypyitaw 7,057.10 1,160,242 ResidentialRakhineState Sittwe Sittwe 36,778.10 3,188,807 ResidentialSagaingRegion Monywa Sagaing 93,702.50 5,325,347 ResidentialShanState(North) Taunggyi Lashio 155,801.40 5,824,432 ResidentialShanState(South) Taunggyi Hopone ResidentialThanintharyiRegion Myeik Myeik 43,344.90 1,408,401 BusinessYangonRegion Yangon Yangon 10,276.70 7,360,703 Business

Table4:TownshipsandState/Regioncharacteristics,LIRNEasiaMay2016

ServersusedforthediagnosticswerewithincoretransitlocationsinBangkokandLosAngeles.TheNDT servers are outside of ISP networks, within data centers that have direct upstream transitconnectivitytotheInternet(Tier1networks).Thisplacementisintendedtocomparetoactualuserexperience,wheremorethanonenetwork ispotentially involvedinthedeliveryofcontent.This isdifferent from isolating only one component of the ecosystem as other testing infrastructuressometimesdo,suchastotheaccessprovider’sedge.

TheintendeduseoftheserverinBangkokwastoreplicateitasalocallyhostedserver.Thiswastheinitialhypothesis.However,oncompletionofthediagnostics itwasevidentthattheNDTserver inneighboringBangkokcannotbeaproxyforaserverwithinthenationaldomain.TraceroutesfromYangon towww.google.comand to theNDT servers in LAandBangkok illustrate the routes takenbetweentheclientandserver.SeveralprivateIPaddresseswereencounteredwhicharemostlikelytobewithintheserviceprovider’snetworkandpacketsreached/wasroutedthroughBangkokaftera significant number of hops. Ideally, a locally hosted serverwould be used tomeasure BBQoSEwithinthelocaldomain.

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3 Results:ValueforMoney(MbpsperUSD,basedondownloadspeedsfromtheserverinLosAngeles)3.1 Natureoftestsite:Business

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3.2 Natureoftestsite:Residential

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4 Results:Downloadspeed,Uploadspeed,Latency&Retransmission4.1 Natureoftestsite:Business

4.1.1 Pathein,Ayeyarwaddy

MPT–BKKServer MPT–LAServer Ooredoo–BKKServerOoredoo–LAServer Telenor–BKKServer Telenor–LAServer

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4.1.2 Bago,Bago

MPT–BKKServer MPT–LAServer Ooredoo–BKKServerOoredoo–LAServer Telenor–BKKServer Telenor–LAServer

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4.1.3 MyitKyiNa,Kachin

MPT–BKKServer MPT–LAServer Ooreedo–BKKServer Ooreedo–LAServer Telenor–BKKServer Telenor–LAServer

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4.1.4 Hpa-An,Kayin


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4.1.5 Mawlamyine,Mon


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4.1.6 Myeik,Tanintharyi


Lower the bet ter

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4.1.7 Yangon,Yangon


Lower the bet ter

Lower the bet ter

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4.2 Natureoftestsite:Residential

4.2.1 Hakha,Chin

MPT–BKKServer MPT–LAServer

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4.2.2 Demoso,Kayah

MPT–BKKServer MPT–LAServer Telenor–BKKServer Telenor–LAServer

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4.2.3 Pakokku,Magway


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4.2.4 Nyaung-U,Mandalay


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4.2.5 NayPiTaw,NayPiTaw


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4.2.6 Sittwe,Rakhine


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4.2.7 Sagaing,Sagaing


Note:Max.valueofy-axisishigherincomparisontoothergraphs

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4.2.8 Lashio,NorthernShan


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4.2.9 Hopone,SouthernShan


Lower the bet ter

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5 ResultsbyoperatorbasedonNatureofTestsite(Businessv.Residential)

5.1 MPT:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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5.2 Ooredoo:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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5.3 Telenor:Downloadspeed(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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5.4 MPT:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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5.5 Ooredoo:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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5.6 Telenor:Latency(fromaserverinLosAngeles)

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About

In itspositionasa think-tankactiveacrossSouthAsiaandSouthEastAsiaLIRNEasia,since 2008, has been carrying out broadband quality of service diagnostics asexperiencedbyusers inmultiplecities intheregion.9Themainobjective is toprovideresearch-based input to relevant policy discourse. Our non-proprietary research isavailableviawww.lirneasia.net and canalsobeusedby consumers tomake informeddecisions. Our research findings have been extensively shared with the likes of TheEconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), South AsianTelecommunicationRegulators'Council (SATRC), training coursesofferedby theFordFoundation and via engagements withmultiple national regulatory authorities in theregion.

9Refer:http://lirneasia.net/projects/ict-indicators/

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