Boosting the mobile video experience

By 2017, two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video, according to estimates. To cater for this surge in video demand, Telenor has signed a three-year global frame agreement with Alcatel-Lucent to give customers fast, buffering-free mobile video and improve overall Internet service quality in 11 markets in Europe and Asia.

Through deployment of mobile Internet optimization Telenor will address the challenges caused by mobile users accessing “over the top” video from sites like YouTube and Netflix. In high-traffic locations or for popular content being viewed by several people at once – such as the latest YouTube viral sensation – subscribers can be frustrated by slow connection times, interruptions to service and poor quality. There’s also the risk of one subscriber streaming high definition video affecting service quality for others nearby.
These effects will be more predominant as an increasing amount of video content is poured into Telenor’s networks.

Video storm expected

Network equipment vendor Cisco predicts that mobile video streaming will represent 66 per cent of all global mobile traffic by 2017, presenting a growing challenge for service providers trying to ensure that demand for video does not affect service quality and avoid mobile subscriber churn.
In Telenor’s Nordic networks video traffic has already surpassed the 50 per cent mark. Growth in Internet consumption in the EEC and Asia is strong, particularly when it comes to video. As an example, today more than 30 per cent of the traffic in Grameenphone’s 2G network is video.
“Telenor is committed to giving our customers the best possible experience when using our networks. As their passion for video from sites like YouTube grows, we want to make sure we keep our network capacity and intelligence one step ahead of demand,” comments Witold Sitek, SVP Technology, Telenor Group.

Opera to provide video and media optimization for each individual customer

Telenor will deploy technology that automatically manages the delivery of Internet traffic over a mobile network, optimizing the experience for customers watching video and accessing web content, while ensuring a surge in demand doesn’t affect those using the network for other activities.
As part of the agreement, Opera Software’s Skyfire subsidiary will supply network-based mobile video and media optimization through its Rocket Controller and Optimizer, a virtualized software that optimizes video streams and web in real-time on a per device, user and session basis, thereby improving quality of experience, reducing bandwidth and increasing mobile network capacity.
In addition Alcatel-Lucent will be providing solutions to temporarily store popular content closer to subscribers, as well as to monitor service quality and provide network analytics.
Implementation of the solution will begin in selected Southeast Asian countries this autumn.