MTN is still investigating solutions to manage usage on its BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) which causes degradation of service.
Abuse on the BlackBerry network, where users download large files (typically movies and TV series), became a big problem for mobile operators such as Vodacom and MTN.
Mobile operators could previously not implement their own solutions to curb abuse on their networks because of BlackBerry’s traffic encryption (making it impossible to see what type of data is sent to and from a BlackBerry).
The BlackBerry holding company Research in Motion (RIM) has worked with the mobile operators to assess traffic types and build solutions to limit abuse on the BIS network.
Vodacom was the first company to implement a traffic management solution, and recently migrated all of their BlackBerry users to a new system which gives priority to non-bulk download traffic during peak times.
The new system essentially throttles large downloads – similar to how some Internet services throttle peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic – and prioritizes standard services such as e-mail, web surfing and social networking.
Mapula Bodibe, MTN South Africa’s GM for Consumer Marketing, said that usage management solutions have become a global trend and “naturally MTN has investigated solutions to manage usage which causes degradation of service with the ultimate objective of enhancing overall user experience for the majority of our customers”.
Bodibe would not give details about their plans, merely saying that MTN will “make the necessary announcement to media when new developments around the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) occur”.
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