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June 21, 2012 |
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An Intelligent Approach To Handle Data Capacity Needs
We are still in the midst of the Second Generation Data Boom and it is clear that intelligent solutions are necessary to handle the increasing data demands on mobile operators. Beyond just handling the new data realities, those who approach network optimization with quality in mind will actually take advantage of the surge in data usage. Birdstep’s Smart Mobile Data services are built to take advantage of today’s mobile landscape and we are pleased to prove it.
In order to demonstrate our Smart Mobile Data data offload and power management capabilities, we performed a trial on the live WiFi/3G/4G network of a major US operator. The success of this trial provided a compelling example of what can be achieved with Smart Mobile Data services, and became the foundation for our million client roll-out in USA.
The trial was conducted on hundreds of cell IDs in a live WiFi/3G/4G network over a period of two weeks. More than 300 Android smartphone end users participated by EasySmart, our intelligent off-load client for smartphones and tablets, which enables seamless and policy-based offloading to Wi-Fi/4G with automatic credential handling, as well as User Account Management.
During the first week of the trial, no policy was implemented. Our services were dormant, only turning on the Wi-Fi radio when AC power was connected. During this period, “baseline” information was collected on data uploaded and downloaded for each type of data connection: 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi.
During the second week of the trial, we moved away from the baseline and EasySmart actively offloaded data traffic from the 3G network to 4G and Wi-Fi.
Want to know what we found? Check out the two graphs below.
Figure 1 shows average traffic against all “congested” cell IDs each hour of the day for the first week of trial.
Figure 2 shows average traffic against all “congested” cell IDs each hour of the day for the second week of trial.
You can see two very important things in these graphs. First, the participants were connected to Wi-Fi a lot more in peak hours when using EasySmart. Second, when the participants were connected to Wi-Fi, they tended to use more data, which points to a better user experience. The kicker? Despite using more data, battery life was improved for those participants, as less power was consumed when connected to Wi-Fi versus 3G/4G. Yet another plus for user experience.
This is an example of how operators can take advantage of the Second Generation Data Boom rather than just withstand it by using intelligent solutions, like those provided by Birdstep’s Smart Mobile Data services. User experience can actually get better despite the data boom and all savvy operators will take note.
