© 2008 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco ConfidentialPresentation_ID 1

Broadband Quality ScoreA global study of broadband quality

September 2009

Sponsored by

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• Only a few years ago, the analysis of broadband diffusion focused on who had 

an Internet connection and who did not. 

• As bandwidth intensive applications, such as video, became pervasive, the 

broadband gap is being redefined as a quality divide. 

• Last year, Cisco sponsored the development of the Broadband Quality Score 

―an index that combines key performance parameters to measure the

quality 

of a broadband connection. 

• The research team found that

broadband quality is linked to social and 

economic benefits

and that countries

with high broadband quality have 

broadband on their national agenda. 

• Investments in fibre and cable upgrades improve broadband quality.• In 2009, we analysed approximately 24 million records sourced from actual 

broadband speed tests from Speedtest.net (Ookla) for 66 countries during 

May 2008 and May to July 2009

• Additional analysis in 2009 includes segmentation based on stage

of economic 

development; BQS for cities and the Broadband Quality Divide

2

Background information

Sponsored by

2000 2005 2010 2015

Broa

dban

d Qua

lity

TWO WAVES OF BROADBAND SERVICES

Social networkingLD video streamingBasic video chattingSmall file sharingSD IPTV

Visual networkingHD video streamingConsumer telepresenceLarge file sharingHD IPTV

RequirementsDownload 3.75 Mbps Upload 1 Mbps Latency 95ms

Requirements•

Download 11.25Mbps•

Upload 5Mbps•

Latency 60ms 

Today

Tomorrow

What the study established in 2008

Changing quality requirements

Sponsored by

MAIN FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BROADBAND QUALITY AND PENETRATION

* based on limited sample of ComScore data

HIGHPENETRATION

HIGHQUALITY

•

ICT Diffusion•

Knowledge 

Economy

•

Web Usage*

•

Education•

Fibre and 

upgraded 

cable 

•

Innovation•

Labour Productivity•

Competitiveness

•

GDP/Capita•

Technology 

Diversity

•

PCs/Capita

DRIVING FACTORSIMPACT ONBROADBAND

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT

What the study established in 2008

Impact of Quality and Penetration

Sponsored by

KEY FACTORS IN DETERMINING BROADBAND EXPERIENCE

Main broadband quality factors 

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Broadband Quality Score (BQS)

• BQS is calculated based on normalized values of:

– Download and Upload throughput, and Latency

• 24 million records sourced from actual tests from Speedtest.net (Ookla) during May 

2008 and May ‐

July 2009 

• Weights assigned to each factor for today’s

and tomorrow’s (3 to 5 years) applications.

BQS (today) = 55% Download + 23% Upload + 22%Latency     

BQS (tmrw)  = 45% Download + 32% Upload + 23%Latency

BQS THRESHOLD CALCULATION

BQS threshold: 30Download 3.75 Mbps Upload 1 Mbps Latency 95ms

BQS threshold:

50Download 11.25MbpsUpload 5Mbps Latency 60ms 

Sponsored by

BQS Download Upload Latency2008 26 3185 773 2152009 31 4754 1308 170Delta 17% 49% 69% ‐21%

% of countries improved in performance

93.9% 93.9% 93.9% 84.8%

6.1% 6.1% 6.1% 15.2%

BQS DOWNLOAD UPLOAD LATENCY

Improved Not improved

Global overview for 2009

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Regional improvement of BQS

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Ready for 

tomorrowComfortably enjoying 

today’s applicationsMeeting needs of today’s 

applicationsBelow today’s 

applications thresholdLeapfrog 

Opportunity 

BQS by countries 2008

Sponsored bySponsored by

Ready for 

tomorrowComfortably enjoying 

today’s applicationsMeeting needs of 

today’s applicationsBelow today’s 

applications thresholdLeapfrog 

Opportunity 

BQS by countries 2009

Sponsored bySponsored by

Rank Countries 2008 BQS 2009 BQS Delta BQS1 Korea 38.25 65.99 27.72 Lithuania 35.15 54 19.33 Bulgaria 31.01 49 17.54 Sweden 41.15 57 15.65 Latvia 36.29 48 11.86 Romania 33.43 44.89 11.57 Denmark 34.30 44.89 10.68 Taiwan 23.93 34.43 10.59 Kenya 4.57 13 8.510 Netherlands 37.62 45.59 8.011 Czech Republic 30.20 38 7.812 United States 29.11 37 7.713 Slovakia 30.10 37 7.314 Iceland 25.14 32 7.015 Hong Kong 26.81 33 6.6

Top changes in BQS (2009‐2008)

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BQS

0

40

60

20

80

100

BROADBAND LEADERSHIP MATRIX

BQS

0

40

60

20

80

100

Penetration (% Households)

20% 40% 60% 80% 100%0%

PENETRATION 

LEADERS

CATCH‐UP

QUALITYLEADERS

LEAP‐FROG

Broadband Leadership ‐

Redefined 

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BROADBAND LEADERSHIP MATRIX (TOP‐20)

1.

S Korea2.

Japan3.

Hong Kong4.

Sweden5.

Switzerland6.

Netherlands7.

Singapore8.

Luxembourg9.

Denmark10.

Norway11.

Malta12.

Iceland13.

Australia14.

Lithuania15.

United States16.

Ireland17.

Canada18.

France19.

Estonia20.

Belgium

QUALITYLEADERS

PENETRATION 

LEADERS

CATCH‐UP

Broadband Leadership Top 20

100 =BQS actual value 66

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

Sponsored bySponsored by

21. 

Finland22. 

Slovenia23. 

Taiwan24. 

Latvia25. 

United Kingdom26. 

Bahrain27. 

Germany28. 

Cyprus29. 

Czech Republic30. 

UAE31. 

Romania32. 

New Zealand33. 

Spain34. 

Bulgaria35. 

Qatar36. 

Austria37. 

Portugal38. 

Italy39. 

Greece40. 

Hungary

BROADBAND LEADERSHIP MATRIX (TOP‐21‐40)

CATCH‐UP

QUALITYLEADERS

PENETRATION 

LEADERS

Broadband Leadership 21 ‐

40BQ

S (Normalized

)

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

100 =BQS actual value 66

Sponsored bySponsored by

41. 

Slovakia42. 

Turkey43. 

Russian Federation44. 

Poland45. 

Chile46. 

Mexico47. 

Argentina48. 

Malaysia49. 

China50. 

Costa Rica51. 

Saudi Arabia52. 

Ukraine53. 

Brazil54. 

Colombia55. 

Tunisia56. 

Philippines57. 

Thailand58. 

Vietnam59. 

Morocco60. 

Pakistan61. 

South Africa62. 

India63. 

Indonesia64. 

Egypt65. 

Kenya66. 

Nigeria

BROADBAND LEADERSHIP MATRIX (TOP‐41‐66)

CATCH‐UP

LEAPLEAP‐‐FROGFROG

Broadband Leadership 41 ‐

66BQ

S (Normalized

)

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

100 =BQS actual value 66

Sponsored bySponsored by

QUALITYLEADERS

PENETRATION 

LEADERS

CATCH‐UP

Broadband Leadership Movers 2008 – 2009 Innovation Economies

BQS (Normalized

)

S Korea

Sweden

Netherlands

Denmark

Norway

USA

Ireland

Estonia

Slovakia

Taiwan

Czech Rep

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

100 =BQS actual value 66

Sponsored bySponsored by

CATCH‐UP

QUALITYLEADERS

PENETRATION 

LEADERS

Broadband Leadership Movers 2008 – 2009 Efficiency Economies

BQS (Normalized

)

Bulgaria

Chile

Mexico

Brazil

Ukraine

Lithuania

Latvia

Romania

Turkey

Hungary

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

100 =BQS actual value 66

Sponsored bySponsored by

CATCH‐UP

LEAPLEAP‐‐FROGFROG

Broadband Leadership Movers 2008 – 2009 Factor Economies 

BQS (Normalized

)

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Vietnam

Philippines

Nigeria

N.B. All BQS values have been normalised to a scale of 0 – 100 with 66 = 100

100 =BQS actual value 66

Sponsored bySponsored by

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Ready for 

tomorrowComfortably enjoying 

today´s applicationsMeeting needs of 

today’s applications

BQS by city (top 100)

Below 

today’s 

applications 

threshold

Sponsored bySponsored by

Ready for 

tomorrowComfortably enjoying 

today’s applicationsMeeting needs of 

today’s applicationsBelow today’s 

applications thresholdLeapfrog 

Opportunity 

20

BQS by country outside major cities

Sponsored bySponsored by

Digital Broadband Quality Divide

Sponsored bySponsored by

PRELIMINARY

22

Mobile Broadband Quality Divide

Sponsored bySponsored by

INNOVATION 

ECONOMIES

EFFICIENCY 

ECONOMIES

FACTOR 

ECONOMIES

Broadband Leadership By stage of economic development 

Sponsored by

Government, policy makers and regulators• Set national broadband agenda with goals for availability,

penetration and quality. Encourage private investment Content producers, aggregators, and over-the-top players• Provide content and applications that are quality-aware to ensure a

consistent customer experienceService Providers• Build a broadband business model based on quality as the key

differentiatorEquipment and device vendors• Focus on simplicity, usability and interoperabilityConsumers• Keep home and personal devices up to date and conduct regular

speed tests

24

HIGH‐LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Broadband Stakeholders