Nearly 29 percent of 3,000 European subscribers said they will avoid their mobile phone for watching of video during FIFA World Cup — owing to poor quality and bill shock.
During the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, European mobile subscribers shared the same worries about video quality on smartphones.

Openwave Mobility, which organized the independent study, has found that 1 in 3 football fans will watch the 2018 Russia World Cup using mobile data. This is nearly double the number of people that watched the 2014 Brazilian World Cup (17 percent) using mobile data.
Openwave Mobility conducted the 2018 World Cup study in the UK, Spain and Germany and found that mobile operators can expect a surge in live streaming traffic over the course of the tournament.

“While the demand for mobile video has grown dramatically, improvements in QoE have not necessarily gone hand in hand,” said John Giere, CEO of Openwave Mobility.

Live streaming of video content coupled with a surge in demand can strain mobile networks more than Video on Demand streaming.

The survey found that almost 2 in 3 (62 percent) football fans would switch to a mobile operator who offered a price-plan to watch unlimited football on their mobile data connection – and 20 percent were prepared to pay extra for this.

Football fans in Spain are much more inclined to watch matches on the go, compared to other nations. 1 in 2 (51 percent) will watch Sergio Ramos and the team in Moscow on a handset.

39 percent of European Millennials will watch the 2018 World Cup over mobile data. That is twice the number of Baby Boomers (21 percent) watching the Russian tournament on a handset.

Openwave Mobility has over 30 global deployments and during the World Cup. It will be tracking the impact of video streaming video on mobile networks.