High definition multimedia streaming and longer browsing
sessions are putting significant strain on network resources, which will only
intensify with increased penetration of the mobile Internet, according to Flash
Networks.
Flash Networks‘ study reveals that worldwide,
streaming music and video are consuming more and more bandwidth when compared
with traditional browsing. In North America, video as a percent of mobile
traffic is fast approaching 50 percent, while in Asia, video is the largest
contributor to network traffic, consuming 56 percent of the bandwidth.
One contributing factor is the proliferation of high definition video
the same video content on YouTube today consumes three times the megabytes
compared with just a year ago. It is not surprising, therefore, that when video
viewing was at its peak and no optimization was applied, network interrupts
occurred for up to 20 percent of browsing attempts, demonstrating how excessive
video traffic impacts user quality of experience.
In addition to richer and larger data files that need to
be moved through the network, session length is also increasing in both the US
and Asia. In North America, close to 5 percent of mobile sessions involve users
viewing over 30 minutes of streaming video at a time. In Asia, this number is
slightly lower but the positive trend is consistent.
The study also revealed that unlike Asia Pacific where there
are peak traffic periods during commuting hours and lunch time, in North
America traffic builds gradually throughout the day beginning at 7:00 AM, with
peak hours from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. This means that in North America network
optimization may be required consistently throughout the day and not just
before or after work hours.
This information was provided by Harmony Analytics,
installed on operator networks worldwide for better network planning and more
effective network optimization. Sophisticated network optimization solutions
combined with Analytics enable operators to provide a consistently superior
user experience, even during peak traffic periods.
“That video is dominating traffic on mobile networks
isn’t surprising. Beyond the big trends, however, what’s important is the
ability to understand and get insight into specific traffic mixes. Unless
operators have a deep understanding of the traffic running across their
networks, there’s no way they can hope to effectively monetize or optimize the
user experience – making the most of their network assets,” said Peter
Jarich, service director with Current Analysis.
“Today mobile operators are being judged based on
the speed of their browsing while at the same time richer high-definition
content and longer browsing sessions are increasing the likelihood of degrading
the user experience,” said Merav Bahat, vice president of marketing and
business development, Flash Networks.
“Operators can create a competitive differentiator
by optimizing data using sophisticated techniques such as busy hour management,
while ensuring a superior user experience with more cost-efficient capacity
utilization,” Bahat added
By Telecomlead.com Team
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