network DL - Downlink ISP - Internet service provider UL - Uplink Figure 4.11 Dependence of network design on the interconnection points and access network. 4 QoS for Fixed Ultra-Broadband Possible bottlenecks at interconnection points that can cause QoS degradation end-to-end User/machine A between users/machines A and B. User/machine B access ISP-2 network ISP-1 (over access (IntServ) (DiffServ) (MPLS-TE) provisioning) Mobile access Optical (3G, 4G, 5G) access BB - Backbone provider network DL - Downlink ISP - Internet service provider UL - Uplink Figure 4.12 Bottleneck at interconnection points in end-to-end network design. serves also as ISP, where ISP refers to provision of access to the public Internet) have significant influence on end-to-end QoS, and therefore interconnection between IP networks belonging to different operators may require regulatory attention or action to ensure QoS as end-to-end performance of different services with generally different QoS requirements. 4.6 Strategic Aspects for Ultra-Broadband The ultra-broadband access gives additional power to telecommunications/ICT in the second and third decades of twenty-first century. The deployment of ultra-broadband has multiple effects on all aspects, including business and regulatory aspects, as well as on society in general. Ultra-broadband coupled with QoS provisioning per traffic class or per flow increases further the possibilities for spread of ICT into different verticals. It is generally accepted that broadband has a beneficial impact on economic growth [35]. One may note that broadband speed matters, which is a trivial conclusion. Such a conclusion refers to different speeds at different times; however, it matters whether the broadband access speed is higher (typically, the access network is the bottleneck on the way end-to-end). From an economic point of view, one may distinguish several impacts of broadband and ultra-broadband deployment, which include the following: Direct effects. Large-scale ultra-broadband infrastructure invest