On September 28, Mobile Minute and Informa Telecoms & Media collaborated with Vodafone D2 in Germany to present “The Impact of Video Traffic Growth on Mobile Networks”. The webinar attracted a mix of network operators, analysts and media, with over 400 registrants from around the world. To access a full replay, please visit us at Mobile Minute.

Contributors to the webinar included Dr. Volker Sebastian, head of Multimedia Application Engineering at Vodafone D2; Mike Hibberd, editorial director of Telecoms.com; and Jeff Sanderson, head of Pre-Sales for EMEA and Latin America at Bytemobile.

Mike Hibberd began the discussion by summarizing the key growth trends driving the wireless market today. Most strikingly, he noted a projected 76% CAGR in global mobile data traffic from 2008 to 2013. This is due to a combination of factors, including flat-rate tariffs used by operators to stimulate adoption, improvements in network infrastructure, and the spread of high-end, data-hungry devices.

Volker Sebastian expanded on the challenge created by these growth trends, noting the role that various technological solutions will play in helping operators manage traffic. Vodafone D2, like many carriers in developed markets, is looking for ways to meet consumer demand within its capital budget constraints – specifically, demand for data that is skewed by the enormous popularity of streaming video content. With optimization techniques implemented by Bytemobile, Vodafone D2 has been able to realize a total data savings of approximately 25% of HTTP traffic (85% of its video traffic is streamed via HTTP).

Jeff Sanderson rounded out the session with an overview of the various media optimization and policy enforcement solutions that Bytemobile offers operators to realign revenue generation with bandwidth consumption. Through optimization techniques such as Just in Time video downloading, Quality-Aware Transcoding, Dynamic Bandwidth Shaping, and Media Caching, operators are able to enhance the efficiency of their networks and increase their ROI in network infrastructure. Most importantly, consumers enjoy an improved user experience, which supports retention and growth of the operator’s subscriber base.

Additional Mobile Minute events are planned for the coming months. We will cover these events on our website and blog as part of our ongoing efforts to provide thought leadership and consultative education to the rapidly evolving mobile internet space.

- Peter Turner

Image courtesy of Hector Milla via the Creative Commons attribution license.

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The accelerated growth of multimedia usage on mobile devices is changing the traffic profile of wireless networks. Traditional traffic management technologies have been ineffective in handling mobile video. Network operators require new strategies and tools to maintain high quality of service and manage traffic growth within their capital budgets.

Please join senior executives from Vodafone D2, Informa Telecoms & Media, and Bytemobile at 4:00 p.m. UK GMT on Tuesday, September 28, as they tackle the challenges and opportunities of mobile multimedia.

The September 28 webinar – “The Impact of Video Traffic Growth on Mobile Networks,” as advertised on Informa’s telecoms.com – will feature panelists Dr. Volker Sebastian, head of Multimedia Engineering, TMH, at Vodafone D2 (Germany); Mike Hibberd, editorial director of Telecoms.com; and Jeff Sanderson, head of Pre-Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America at Bytemobile.

Please register for the webinar here. The webinar is free and will be accessible on demand for interested participants across the globe.

-Tod Bottari  
 

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On August 11, we looked at In-Stat’s data on the global migration of mobile users to 3G networks and beyond. As of 2010, only 17% of the world’s subscribers can access bandwidth enabling them to play video and use other rich applications – leaving 83% of the current base yet to generate untold volumes of data traffic.

Carriers’ migration from one generation of network technology to the next is a complex, long-term process with many moving parts and interdependencies. First, wireless spectrum is acquired and activated. Next-generation radio networks are rolled out. Backhaul is upgraded. The core network is upgraded. Next-generation mobile devices are launched. Finally, after years and hundreds of millions of dollars, the new network is ready for subscriber adoption.

Clearly, different regions of the world are on different trajectories toward 3G and 4G migration and adoption.

Today, Western Europe has nearly twice the global percentage of 3G subscribers. 3G adoption in North America is pushing toward 50%, while Asia is comparable to the global average. The outlook for 4G penetration in all three regions over the next few years is incremental but measurable.
   
By contrast, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Caribbean and Latin America each have less than 5% 3G penetration and no forecast for 4G. The potential for growth of data subscribers and traffic in these emerging markets is vast.

The net net? The mobile data tsunami – which has increasingly commanded news headlines, frustrated consumers, and caused carriers to adapt their business models and technology adoption curves over the last couple of years – is still a wavelet. In developed and developing markets alike, albeit at different stages and paces, the real sea change is yet to come.

-Tod Bottari 
 

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Radio access network (RAN) capacity and congestion are key priorities for wireless network operators in the mobile internet era. Today, congestion occurs primarily at the cell site and backhaul in densely populated urban areas. It can appear suddenly, with no advance warning. For operators, capacity planning has become a challenge of constantly locating and resolving congestion.

Networks become congested when demand for bandwidth exceeds capacity and users are forced to compete for resources. Rather than rising with demand, actual traffic is limited by capacity, leaving demand unfulfilled – and therefore revenue unrealized.

Competition for network resources intensifies as traffic volume increases. Congestion causes the user experience to deteriorate – for example, videos stall during periods of elevated usage, and users become frustrated. As a result, they churn to other networks offering better quality of service.

Bytemobile’s Unison™ Mobile Internet Platform provides a versatile traffic gateway that enables operators to do more with less. Specifically, traffic optimization expands effective network capacity by reducing cost per bit, removing wasted bytes and pushing bytes out of peak usage periods. Policy enforcement helps operators manage network yield, prioritize users in terms of service levels and maintain a superior user experience.

Since no subscriber migration to a new network or adoption of new service is required, the benefits of the mobile internet gateway are immediate. Operators are able to recapture revenue that had been lost due to unfulfilled demand.

-Tod Bottari
 

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