China Mobile, DoCoMo gear up to deploy C-RANs
Mobile Data Offloaded Will Grow 100-fold by 2015
Mobile data offloading is forecast to triple in the next five years. According to a new study from ABI Research, about 16% of mobile data is diverted from mobile networks today, and that is expected to increase to 48% by 2015. But data traffic itself will have grown by a factor of 30, meaning that offloaded data will expand 100-fold.
The serious, well-publicized traffic overloads (including content data and radio signaling) that are starting to choke many mobile networks will only worsen as smartphones and other mobile devices proliferate, and operators must extend capacity. Brute force network expansion, requiring a doubling of capacity, isn’t an option.
Instead, several approaches and technologies will play specific roles in relieving network congestion. These include Wi-Fi, femtocells, mobile CDNs (content delivery networks) media optimization, and more. [ABIResearch]
As ABI Research practice director Aditya Kaul explains, “Each of these offload and optimization technologies is aimed at solving a particular problem and they will all coexist. Wi-Fi is effective in covering limited areas containing many users, such as transport stations and sports venues. A femtocell, in contrast, is a good solution for targeting small numbers of heavy data users. Mobile CDNs attack the problem of frequently-used content, for example a video that has ‘gone viral’, by caching the file locally rather than loading it onto the network for each download request.”
One of the most effective tools is media optimization – effectively improved compression – which is already being used widely. Media optimization will grow the fastest and deliver the greatest traffic reduction of all these methods.
Data offloading saves money as well as relieving network traffic. “Moving data costs a surprising amount,” says Kaul. “Wi-Fi and femtocells in particular do that at a tiny fraction of the per-Gigabyte cost of a 3G network. The ABI Research report precisely quantifies these savings.”
Most of these solutions are being offered to operators by a number of suppliers. Prominent among them: Belair Networks for carrier Wi-Fi; Ubiquisys for femtocells; Akamai for CDN; Stoke, Inc. for core offloading; and for media optimization, Bytemobile and Openwave.
ChinaTel Planning 29-market Fixed WiMAX Deployment in China
By Lynnette Luna
ChinaTel Group is working with CECT-Chinacomm Communications to deploy a WiMAX network in the 3.5 GHz band across 29 markets in China, including large population areas such as Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Chinatel's Kenneth Hoobs, vice president of mergers and acquisitions for ChinaTel, told RCR Wireless News that the company has 20 megahertz of spectrum, which could increase in the future thanks to the Chinese government. ChinaTel is under a government mandate to deploy 12 markets by June 2011. The company has already finished construction on three network operating centers and three switches, and construction of the network in the remaining 17 markets will likely begin in 2014.
The company already has a presence in China via WiFi deployments in Beijing to support the 2008 Olympics. ChinaTel was then contracted through its partnership with CECT-Chinacomm to begin building a fixed WiMAX network using spectrum granted by the government. Today, ChinaTel said it has has between 400,000 and 500,000 people paying for access to its WiFi network that covers parts of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Last week ChinaTel signed an MoU with Chinese vendor ZTE to make that supplier the preferred infrastructure provider of equipment, operational services and financing for the wireless broadband networks ChinaTel is planning for not only China but Peru and other markets.
ChinaTel recently acquired a 95 percent stake in Peruvian telecom provider Perusat S.A., which holds 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses covering portions of Peru.ChinaTel may be deploying the fixed version of WiMAX, but the company has indicated it can upgrade rather easily to the mobile version of the standard and also move to LTE as a network overlay or a side-by-side addition to the WiMAX network pending government approval of course. [FierceBroadbandWireless]
3G Networks Carry 72% of Android Mobile Video Traffic
By Jason Ankeny
Mobile operators' 3G networks carry 72 percent of video content viewed by Android smartphone users in the U.S. according to new data issued by mobile video ad network Rhythm NewMedia. By comparison, iPhone users rely on 3G for 56 percent of their mobile video consumption, turning to WiFi support for the remaining 44 percent. The split is even closer across the U.S. mobile market as a whole, with 3G responsible for 53 percent of mobile video traffic and WiFi accounting for 47 percent. Rhythm NewMedia reports that mobile video viewing habits remain spread throughout the day, unlike mobile TV, which spikes during primetime hours--in the evenings, subscribers turn to WiFi in greater numbers.
Rhythm NewMedia's average monthly content views grew 30 percent in the second quarter over Q1 totals; average monthly video minutes per unique visitor increased 20 percent quarter-over-quarter, edging past the 30-minute mark. Among viewers who access full-length video episodes, 26.5 percent of consumers view the program in its entirety (about 45 minutes), and 41 percent stick around for at least half. Rhythm NewMedia adds that completion rates for interactive pre-roll video ads reached 88 percent, surpassing both online video and television. [FierceMobileContent]
Ignore m-commerce and Face Being Marginalised, Ovum Warns Insurance Industry
Insurance companies that ignore m-commerce face marginalising themselves as younger generations come of purchasing age, according to Ovum.
In a new report* the independent technology analyst looks at the effect m-commerce will have on the insurance industry and concludes that companies that avoid it could be bypassed when younger generations come to make their first purchase.
According to the report, m-commerce is a ‘game changer’ for the insurance industry, due to its high speed capabilities, and companies must begin to offer it to customers in 2010 to maintain market presence.
Barry Rabkin, author of the report and an Ovum insurance technology analyst, said: “The speed that m-commerce is conducted at obliterates both distance and time. When commerce is conducted at this speed, it creates heightened customer expectations of availability, responsiveness and fulfillment and puts insurance companies on a path to offering a world class customer experience.
“Some insurers may feel that m-commerce is not a viable channel for them to sell their products, believing that their clients do not live or work in areas with adequate wireless service.
“However, we believe that if they decide to ignore m-commerce, they will marginalise themselves as quickly as younger generations arrive at their first purchasing decision.”
The report points out that the definition of m-commerce goes beyond financial transactions and also includes the role it plays in providing information to customers before and after a purchase, as well encompassing a wide range of devices.
It also states that to successfully embrace m-commerce, companies need to tick several boxes, including having strong connectivity, reliable and secure infrastructure and adequate resources.
Barry adds: “For insurance companies to benefit from m-commerce they need to ensure they are truly viewing the picture from the customer perspective. Only by doing so will they ensure their m-commerce environment will be one that their customers need or appreciate.” Ovum/pr
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