The second of two CTIA panel sessions sponsored by Bytemobile was held at 1:15 p.m. on March 24. The session was moderated by Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Patrick Donegan and featured executives from Allot Communications, a deep packet inspection vendor; Camiant, a policy control vendor and Bytemobile partner; Cricket Communications, a North American carrier and Bytemobile customer; Nokia Siemens Networks, a core network infrastructure vendor; and Bytemobile, represented by Vice President of Product Management Joel Brand.

Much of the discussion focused on the relative importance and positioning of DPI and policy enforcement solutions in the evolved packet core of the 4G network environment. The respective vendors made their cases, while Cricket network engineering director Chris Demange addressed the operator’s requirements for a distributed network architecture, which include functional solutions from a broad range of best-of-breed providers. Joel commented on the need to modify – rather than merely inspect – high-bandwidth content such as video in order to manage rapid growth in traffic.

A highlight of the session occurred during the audience Q&A segment at the end. The panel was asked whether operators in Europe were considering video optimization and how relevant it would be in the roll-out of LTE networks. The other panel members deferred to Joel, who delivered our core argument that network congestion will persist regardless of bandwidth expansion, as consumers adopt and aggressively use new applications and services across smartphones, laptops and other mobile devices. A prime example is video, which the audience acknowledged as the single largest contributor to traffic growth on 3G networks today.

In this context, Joel stated, “LTE is not a panacea.” He went on to point out that Bytemobile was the first in the industry to release a commercial video optimization solution, which is much in demand within our customer base.

-Stacey Infantino

Image courtesy of Neil Boothman via the Creative Commons attribution license.

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The CTIA panel – held at 3:15 p.m. on March 23 and moderated by FierceWireless Editor-in-Chief Sue Marek – included executives from BelAir Networks, MetroPCS, Sprint, TowerStream, and Xanadoo. Highlights of the panelists’ general comments on 4G differentiation were as follows:

• BelAir Networks: The key to successful roll-out is investment in here-and-now solutions for delivering efficient 4G networks.

• MetroPCS: Simple, affordable, unlimited service is its commitment to customers and will continue to be its differentiated business model. Now, there is a growing requirement to efficiently manage data, and the customer base is moving to smartphones. MetroPCS is excited to bring the full mobile Internet to all of its subscribers.

• Sprint: Expects to offer 4G this year, with an aggressive roll-out of services. Indications are that 4G service is 10 times faster than 3G service. The key challenge for large service providers will to differentiate their 4G service from others.

In response to the moderator’s questions – “Does network speed matter? Do customers really know the difference? Will speed drive people to upgrade service?” – the panelists commented as follows.

• MetroPCS: High speed definitely matters to customers, who want to take their internet experience mobile. Smartphones demand higher bandwidth. Service providers need to deliver an affordable quality internet experience – anywhere, anytime. The key to success will be pricing and usage-based infrastructure.

• Sprint: Most people can tell the difference and will upgrade to faster service. When you are actually experiencing and using 4G, you ‘get it’. Fifteen years ago, people knew the difference between wireline and wireless connections. The same will be true for the difference between 3G and 4G experience.

All panelists agreed that user experience will be a major differentiator when consumers choose a 4G wireless service provider.

-Stacey Infantino

Image courtesy of adam & lucy via the Creative Commons attribution license.

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LAS VEGAS  – It was clear from the opening of the show that all eyes and ears would be on wireless data. Phil Goldstein of FierceWireless published a piece about the wide range of data-intensive devices that account for a growing source of revenue in the wireless industry. Eric Savitz of Barron’s covered highlights of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s keynote address, which echoed sentiments expressed earlier by his AT&T colleague Ralph de la Vega. Savitz wrote, “Wireless data consumption will continue to surge as the industry adopts 4G technology in the next few years. [Stephenson] noted that wireless data traffic had grown 3,000% in the U.S. over the last three years; for AT&T the growth has been 5,000%.”

Additional highlights from the CTIA semi-annual survey:

• Wireless data service revenues increased 25.7% from the second half of 2008 to reach more than $22 billion in the second half of 2009.
• Overall, wireless data revenues grew to more than 28% of all wireless service revenues.
• There are now more than 257 million data-capable devices in consumers’ hands, up from 228 million at the end of 2008. 50 million of these devices are smartphones or wireless-enabled PDAs, and nearly 12 million are wireless-enabled laptops, notebooks or air cards.
• 822 billion text messages were sent during the second half of 2008, and more than 1.5 trillion messages were sent for the entire year. Meanwhile, 24.2 billion multimedia messages were sent during the second half of 2009, more than double the number sent in all of 2008.
• On the voice side, wireless customers used 1.12 trillion minutes in the second half of 2009, up from 38 billion minutes during the second half of 2008.
• Total wireless service revenues for the second half of 2009 amounted to almost $77 billion.

-Stacey Infantino

Image courtesy of Aaron Landry via the Creative Commons attribution license.

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Reinforcing the value of Bytemobile’s new analytics service for network operators – announced today - Bytemobile issued its first mobile data report for the industry. The Mobile Minute Metrics report anonymously sources the data traffic in a global cross-section of larger Bytemobile customers’ wireless networks and provides insight into the current state of the mobile ecosystem.

What is most notable from the data gathered in this report is the impact that touchscreen smartphones – the Apple iPhone in particular – is having on operators’ wireless networks. Accounting for 39% of the total volume on networks, video has already become the dominant form of mobile data traffic. Considering that only 1-2% of wireless users are currently using their devices to watch video, it will be critical to keep a close watch on mobile media consumption trends.

Other highlights from the Mobile Minute Metrics report include the following:

●             Generally, there are 10-15 times more web users than video users. However, on average, video users generate an equal amount of network traffic - i.e., one video user produces the same amount of mobile data as approximately 10-15 web users.

●             For the majority of operators without touchscreen smartphones, laptops dominate total network traffic at 94%. However, operators servicing touchscreen smartphones are finding that the devices generate 52% of the traffic on their network.

●          The average internet video is approximately five minutes in length. However, 50% of videos are played for 60 seconds or less, with the majority of users viewing only 10-30 seconds of the video.

To obtain a copy of the Mobile Minute Metrics report for 4Q 2009, click here.

-Stacey Infantino

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