Data Offload ~ Connecting Intelligently

Transcription

1 WHITEPAPER Data Offload ~ Connecting Intelligently This whitepaper is an extract from: Mobile Data Offload & Onload Wi-Fi, Small Cell & Carrier-Grade Strategies information you can do business with

2 Data Offload - Connecting Intelligently 1. Introduction With the advent of network technologies such as 3G and 4G (LTE 1, WiMAX 2, LTE-A 3 ), mobile data traffic has been growing at an unprecedented pace and is increasingly outstripping the network capacity. The introduction of smartphones that offer ubiquitous Internet access allied to a host of other Internet capable devices, including tablets, game consoles, laptops and navigators, has been driving the data growth. Although MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) have sought to monetise this activity through the introduction of an array of data-centric services allied to data and content bundles, traffic growth continues to outpace revenue growth. Indeed, the proliferation of mobile broadband devices, along with the unlimited data bundles from operators, has led to network congestion and deteriorating network quality. 2. Mobile Data Offload The ever increasing consumer traffic demand continues to outstrip the network capacity putting pressure on operators networks. There are several solutions to this explosive traffic growth problem: scaling, optimising and offloading. Scaling involves building out more towers and base stations or upgrading the network using next generation networks. Optimisation helps in flow control, which requires intensive packet inspection and correlation, by isolating the heavy data users. Offloading, on the other hand, helps in moving mobile data traffic from one network to another by using complementary network technologies for the delivery of data via cellular networks. Offloading is an effective network congestion reduction strategy to solve the overload issue compared to scaling and optimisation. It enables network operators to reduce the congestion in the cellular networks, while for the end-user it provides cost savings on data services and higher bandwidth availability. The two main network technologies used for mobile data offloading are Wi-Fi and small cells including microcell, picocell and femtocells. By offloading mobile data traffic onto available complementary networks, operators can optimise the available network resources and reduce the bottlenecking of services thereby allocating their network resources to other users. 1 Long Term Evolution 2 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access 3 Long Term Evolution Advanced Page 1

3 Operators need to view offloadingg solutions as a complementary solution along with their 3G/4G network to easee the network congestion. They can deploy their own public Wi-Fi hotspots, such as AT&TT in the US has done, and then pre-install the connection manager software on customers smartphones so s that when they detect networks in such hotspots, a seamless connection will be established to Wi-Fi for data. The availability of widely deployedd Wi-Fi networks provides the operatorss with a good d value proposition. With femtocells, data traffic is offloaded fromm MNO s radio access network and tunnelled back to the operator s core network, providing operators with policy management and other monetary servicess which are not offered by Wi-Fi data offload. Mobile network operators will use every available resource to solve this capacity problem in order to obtain incremental revenue and cost savings, along with dataa traffic control. In the first t edition of our Data Offload & Onload report, Juniperr Research noted that Wi-Fi the most sought after case. There is no substitute for this capacity problem other than making cellss smaller in order to havee more and femtocells would be integrated as one single unit in the future and this continues to bee capacity in a specificc geographic area. a So this trend will continue and operators o will make use off more integrated units of Wi-Fi and small cells. In the present environment it is most effective to use the cellular c technology to handle the voice providing a transparency between: being outdoors o or indoors; and being in a small cell or macrocell coveragee area that noo other solution could compare with at this point of time. Wi-Fi technology is a good solution to help data offload and along withh small cells, will demonstrate an efficient voice solution hence the importance of combined units. 3. Mobile Data Onload Juniper Research has considered two different t aspects of data migration for the purpose of this report from mobile devices to the fixed network which is essentially data offload and from fixed devices to the mobile network, which we refer to as data onload. Figure 2: Data Migration from Mobile to Fixed and Fixed to Mobile Source: Juniper Research The data onload or data migration from fixedd to mobile is the data through the cellular network, via mobile broadband dongles or 3G cards, from devices such as 3G enabled netbooks, laptops,, game consoles, and ereaders, whose primary mode of connectivity is fixed. For example, a user might connect his/her game console online via a USB 3G modem. We believe that it is important for network operators to be cognizant off the net impact that both offload and onload have on the total data traffic through the network. We recognise r that even though data Page 2

4 offload alleviates some of the operator s network congestion by using microcells, m a significant proportion of the offload could itself be offset by fixed to mobile migration of data, as demonstrated in Figure 2.2 above. 4. Total Dataa Traffic Generated byy Smartphones, Featurephones and Tablets Juniper Research forecasts that the amount of mobile data traffic generated by Smartphones, Featurephones and Tablets will exceed 90,000 Petabytes by 2017, equivalent to almost 42 quadrillion tweets or approximately 7 billion Blu-ray movies. Please note that all our data forecasts are provided as units of Petabytes (PB) which is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion bytes, or 1 million Gigabytes (GB). However, the report finds that only 40% of the data generated by these devices will reach thee cellular network by 2017, as majority of the data traffic will be via the Wi-Fi network. The following chart shows the forecast for total mobile data traffic generated by smartphones, featurephones and tablets in 2017 split by 8 regions. Figure 3: Total Mobile Data Traffic Generated by Smartphones, Featurephones & Tablets (PB) pa Split by 8 Key Regions ,000 PB North America Latin America Western Europe Central & Eastern Europe Far East & China Indian Subcontinent Rest off Asia Pacific Africa & Middle Eastt Source: Juniper Research Page 3

5 Order the Full Report Mobile Data Offload & Onload: Wi-Fi, Small Cell & Carrier-Grade Strategies The Research A fully comprehensive guide into the multifaceted offload value chain, delivering an in-depth appraisal of the growing demand for mobile data and offload solutions This 3 rd edition report forecasts and analyses the successful data migration models from mobile to fixed (data offload) and from fixed to mobile (data onload) Learn from Expert analysis and strategic recommendations supported by interviews with, and commentaries from, key players in the ecosystem including Boingo, Devicescape, Ericsson, Ixia, ip.access, Kineto, Qualcomm, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquisys and Wi-Fi Alliance In-depth assessment on monetisation opportunities and business case scenarios. Available in pdf and Excel format What s New in this Edition? Country level data for Canada, US, Germany, UK, Japan, South Korea and India is available in the Interactive Forecast Excel. Fully revised forecast suite. Juniper's unique forecast suite for the mobile offload market includes the following key data points: total data usage split by fixed & mobile devices; total mobile data traffic via cellular network; total mobile data traffic offloaded and onloaded; data offloaded via small cells & Wi-Fi. This edition includes new forecasts for Wi-Fi Chipsets Split by Technology and Region; Wi-Fi Access Points Split by Segment & Region; and Small Cell Access Points Split by Segment and Region. The report analyses the advancement of carrier grade Wi-Fi and highlights the architecture of both Wi-Fi and Small Cell offload technologies. This report revisits the challenges confronting MNOs and examines the strategies which are being embraced by the mobile operators and how this has changed over the past 12 months. Juniper Research Limited Juniper Research specialises in providing high quality analytical research reports and consultancy services to the telecoms industry. We have particular expertise in the mobile, wireless, broadband and IPconvergence sectors. Juniper is independent, unbiased, and able to draw from experienced senior managers with proven track records. Publication Details Publication date: April 2013 Author: Nitin Bhas For more information, please contact: Michele Ince, General Manager michele.ince@juniperresearch.com Juniper Research Ltd, Church Cottage House, Church Square, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 7QW UK Tel: +44 (0) / Fax: +44(0) Further executive briefings and whitepapers can be downloaded at Page 4