Study Reveals 20% of Sites Are Congested At Any Point In Time

Mahindra Comviva, the global leader in providing mobility solutions and Ovum Consulting, released a research study on strategies for realizing the optimal potential of media optimization.

With the growth in mobile data, the complexity of managing traffic has also intensified driven by greater use of bandwidth hungry applications and heightened customer expectations for an ever-higher Quality of Experience (QoE). According to Ovum Research’s recent forecasts, global mobile broadband connections will cross 4.5 billion at a CAGR of 19% from 2012 to 2018 as demand for data connectivity from big- and small-screen devices continues. It also predicts that mobile broadband revenues will grow to approximately $278 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 11%.

In the face of unrelenting data growth, the study highlights the benefits operators would reap by deploying intelligent media optimization to deliver an assured service experience and better monetize data traffic.

Current optimization techniques are applied principally as a blunt instrument for Capex containment. The broad application of optimization policies such as compression has negative fallout on revenue, especially for operators who predominantly extend volume based plans to customers. As an example, video optimization in a high-traffic location improves bandwidth utilization and overall browsing experience. However, the application of the same policy at congestion-free locations generates lower traffic volume, reducing the number of bytes and revenues per customers. 

Commenting on the significance of media optimization, Madan G. Onkar, Vice President, Internet and Broadband Solutions said “Data is the new growth category for operators in emerging markets. The ability to delight customers with a personalized, consistent, experience and innovative offers is a critical services differentiator. Intelligent context-aware application of optimization techniques would enable operators to balance twin pressures of network and revenue growth.” 

Data traffic is distributed unevenly on the network.  An approximate 20% cell sites are congested at any point of time. The study posits a more intelligent approach to optimization is possible, one that can improve customer experience and service personalization based on real-time invocation of business rules and policies. Unlike conventional techniques, intelligent media optimization selectively applies performance-improvement techniques, based on a combination of variables including – cell traffic load, customer location, network type, application, device and ARPU profile.  

Currently 20% operators have invested in intelligent optimization tools. The report indicates 60% operators would deploy intelligent media optimization within the next 12 months, driven by the need to deliver a consistent QoE (Quality of Experience) and grow revenues. Intelligent optimization would generate new monetization opportunities for operators by enabling them to offer innovative, real-time QoE-based plans to customers. High ARPU user segments, for instance, would be willing to pay more for an assured experience for content; a live sports stream, for example. Likewise, based on congestion levels, MNOs can compress video content for price-sensitive users, who are unwilling to pay more and value speed of transmission over video quality.