Content Filtering for HSPA Home Broadband
Wireless communications technology has become more practical and cost-effective than wireline methods to connect the unconnected in many markets - particularly in developing economies. Since 2007, equipment manufacturers have been conducting WiMAX pilots in under-connected markets to provide voice (VoIP with IMS) and broadband data services to rural areas – an excellent example of killing two birds with one stone. Today, the number of mobile broadband (HSPA) connections in some countries has surpassed the number of fixed broadband connections. Wireless is now seen as not only a viable but a superior alternative to fixed broadband for many applications.
As HSPA mobile broadband makes its way to the homes of consumers, application features typically designed for mobile handset subscribers must be adapted to the home environment. Some time ago, I visited a country in South Asia to deliver technology information on internet Content Filtering solutions. The telecommunications authority in that country was conducting a study to assess the feasibility of mandating filtering of online content nationwide.
The feasibility study surfaced a problem. Each mobile subscriber is typically identified by the MSISDN embedded in the SIM. The content filtering profile associated with the MSISDN is then applied to the individual subscriber. In the HSPA home broadband scenario, a single MSISDN/SIM inserted in the router is shared by all members of the family, from parents to children. Therefore, the traditional method of identifying users by MSISDN is rendered useless.
Addressing this scenario, Bytemobile’s Solutions Engineering team designed a custom user authentication mechanism to distinguish minors from other family members and apply the appropriate content filtering profile to their internet access. This is just one example of many possible changes that could be required when mobile broadband moves to the home. Bytemobile is keeping abreast of this trend and building application features relevant to today’s requirements in specific markets.
-Kok-Bin Lee
Tags: content filtering, HSPA, IMS, mobile broadband, MSISDN, Router, SIM, VoIP, wimax