Carrier Wrap: Carrier streaming video optimization strategies – Episode 9

On this week’s Carrier Wrap, we dig into the rising push by wi-fi carriers into streaming video companies

Wireless carriers have had a tricky relationship with streaming video companies as such choices are bandwidth intensive and have a tendency to stretch mobile community assets. For essentially the most half, wi-fi carriers have steered shoppers in direction of Wi-Fi connections in the case of watching streaming video content material by software program platforms and pricing fashions.
Late final yr T-Mobile US by a spanner in these plans because it launched its Binge On service that permits choose clients to stream video content material over their mobile connection with out dipping into their allotted knowledge buckets. To accomplish this feat, T-Mobile US depends on knowledge compression expertise that limits the video high quality to 480p decision, or what it phrases DVD-like high quality.
As a lot of this streaming video is watched on smartphone screens, shoppers for essentially the most half are anticipated to have the ability to deal with the degraded image high quality, particularly because it comes at a pretty worth level. However, the transfer has drawn criticism from some video service suppliers like YouTube and questions from regulators, leading to T-Mobile US CEO John Legere taking to the carrier’s blog with the intention to argue T-Mobile US’ angle.
So far, T-Mobile US’ rivals haven’t adopted the service into the free video streaming realm, although some are starting to dip their toes within the waters.
Verizon Wireless just lately launched its Go90 platform, which the service continues to bolster with (*9*).
During this week’s AT&T Developer Summit & Hackathon, Tom Keathley, SVP for wi-fi community structure and design for AT&T Technology and Operations, supplied perception into how the telecom big is tackling the rising demand for streaming video content material.
Without moving into specifics – citing issues from AT&T legal professionals – Keathley famous video generated between 40% and 50% of knowledge visitors on the service’s cell community, and greater than 50% of visitors on its wired community. Those numbers are solely anticipated to extend, with Keathley citing the often-cited Cisco Systems’ forecast of video visitors set to generate 70% of cell knowledge visitors by 2018.
In tackling the video bear, Keathley named various choices, together with the limiting of video stream high quality to match a tool display screen’s capabilities. Keathley stated that choice would see video streaming high quality restricted to 480p decision for smartphones, which he famous most shoppers could be exhausting pressed to tell apart from larger resolutions.
On this week’s Carrier Wrap, we spoke with Mark Donnigan, VP of gross sales and technique at media optimization supplier Beamr, to debate how cell carriers are tackling the tough problem of supporting streaming video content material over their mobile networks.
Thanks for watching this week’s Carrier Wrap and please be sure to take a look at a brand new episode of Carrier Wrap subsequent week.
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