Amdocs, the leading provider of customer experience solutions, has released the Amdocs State of the RAN, an annual research report on mobile traffic, showing that the ever-increasing demand for data may exhaust the capacity of 4G/LTE network hotspots within the next two to three years despite LTE easing as much as 50% traffic off 3G networks. The research is based on an analysis of more than 25 million voice and data connections at some of the busiest network locations around the world in the past 12 months.
Acccording to Amdocs, the research highlights the urgency for service providers to develop a "smart data" capacity strategy and prioritize investment where there is a demonstrated return on investment (ROI) and allocate capacity automatically and dynamically to maximize customer experience and profitability. The research highlights that hotspots continue to get hotter with the top 20 percent of locations in cities accounting for 80 percent of all network traffic. This intense concentration of demand will accelerate the adoption of new network technologies, including the proliferation of small cells and the introduction of carrier-grade Wi-Fi to ease the burden.
Amdocs' research points to continuous increase in per subscriber usage which, in many instances has doubled over the last year. The large proportion, 80% of network data usage is being driven by only 10 percent of heavy data users - the "technorati.", who consume up to 10 times more data per session than the average user. Amdocs said that the ability to identify and address high-demand subscriber segments will be critical to managing scarce network capacity.
Rebecca Prudhomme, Vice President for Product and Solutions Marketing at Amdocs
This research shows that service providers are facing a multi-dimensional challenge - to provide ever-increasing network capacity, greater coverage and better quality, particularly in mobile hotspots. The answer is no longer simply just about adding hardware - small cells and Wi-Fi will offer new options ‒ but to introduce smart solutions to prioritize investment and allocate resources automatically to maximize customer experience and profitability. Through the combination of Amdocs' vendor-agnostic RAN solutions, big data analytics and B/OSS market leadership, Amdocs enables service providers to deliver a dynamic quality of experience.
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