Network management

Fair allocation of the free bandwidth 

When using DIGI services, you are entitled to benefit from a superfast broadband Internet connection. To facilitate this, our technicians ensure that the free bandwidth is always allocated as fairly as possible among all users. 

Consequently, if necessary, the upstream bandwidth of P2P traffic may be slightly limited during peak periods. This measure ensures that all users have access to sufficient upstream bandwidth for an optimal and high-quality browsing experience. 

 

P2P traffic in a few words

P2P (peer-to-peer) traffic refers to the sharing of files directly between Internet users. You are probably familiar with some typical P2P applications such as BitTorrent, Vuze, eMule or Gnutella. It is distinct from other internet activities such as web browsing, e-mails, video calls (e.g., Skype), streaming services (e.g., YouTube, Netflix) social media platforms (e.g., Facebook) or download services as iTunes and Usenet which are not peer-to-peer applications. 

 

The speed of P2P traffic depends on several factors, including: 

• the upload speed authorised by the file provider; 

• the specific application you are using; 

• the networks through which traffic flows, such as the DIGI network for example. 

 

As you can see, the speed at which your P2P applications are sent and downloaded also depends on factors independent of DIGI. 

 

Fair allocation: Ensuring equal access for all users  

P2P applications take up a large part of the bandwidth, particularly for upstream data transmissions. This high occupancy rate can disrupt the upload speed of other users who are busy as streaming, browsing or sending e-mails. To safeguard all users’ ability to freely access and use the Internet, at all times, it is necessary to implement a fair allocation of upstream bandwidth for peer-to-peer traffic. 

 

How do we ensure this fair allocation? 

DIGI protects the integrity of its network by setting maximum sending bandwidth for P2P traffic. If you use such applications, you will only notice an impact if there is very high simultaneous peer-to-peer usage in the same region. This situation is temporary and therefore very limited. In all case, at least 50% of the total upload bandwidth is reserved exclusively for non-P2P traffic, ensuring that other activities such as browsing, streaming, and emailing are not unduly affected. 

 

DIGI Mobile traffic management 

To maintain optimal service quality on DIGI Mobile, traffic measurements are taken on the mobile network to prevent any saturation or overload of your connection to the network. Network performance and capacity are the subject of careful monitoring in order to ensure an optimal customer experience and quality of the voice and data communications. Our technical experts supervise the network 24/7, with proactive measures in place to prevent or avoid any incidents and mitigate congestion. Advanced technical systems incorporated into the network provide real-time performance metrics, with predefined trigger points to prompt proactive actions to improve or increase the network capacity. The aim is to take quick action before service quality is impacted. 

 

If an incident nevertheless takes place on the network despite this preventive measures, dedicated teams are available on call 24/7 to restore service and increase the network capacity. The main aim of these operational experts is to resolve each incident as quickly as possible to minimise the impact on the services proposed to the DIGI Mobile users. Each incident is then analysed in depth and in detail: the network operator tries to identify the source of the incident in order to take adequate measures to avoid such incidents in future. During large events, such as summer festivals or sporting events, the capacity of the existing sites and the installation of temporary sites can be organised to boost the network operator’s network performance.