Indoor video performance on mobile devices requires a dramatic shift in benchmarking and network optimization
The current carrier landscape is marked by price wars aimed at giving customers new devices and more monthly data for far less money. From a consumer point of view, what could be better than a new device, more data every month, painless switching of carriers, and cash in your back pocket? This aggressive grab for subscriber growth combined with an exponentially growing demand for data driven by continued innovation in the application arena will keep service providers under tremendous pressure to deliver quality networks. It will be critical for operators to shift from measuring “quality of service” – or network performance – to measuring “quality of experience” – the end user’s satisfaction with their mobile experience. What user would care that their service provider averages 25 Mbps data rates when they’re not able to watch March Madness on their smartphone?
Simply put, a competitive communications service provider needs to focus on measuring and understanding quality of experience; if QoE is ignored, that same service provider needs to come up with a churn management strategy.
We all know that mobile video is a huge force that’s here to stay, but consider the numbers. According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, published in August, video-specific data traffic, driven by streaming services and embedded video content, is projected to grow 55% per year between now and 2020.
It’s no longer enough to assume that if your network QoS meets specification that your content will be delivered to your customer’s satisfaction. These days, service providers need to focus on what is important to the customer, which is “Quality of Experience.” This includes everything from ease of application use to the time it took for the video to start, freezing, blurriness, lip synchronization, etc. Ignoring these issues will impact customer satisfaction, which in turn will have a direct impact on retention and profitability.
So how do service providers change gears and bring QoE to the forefront?
SwissQual, a Rohde & Schwarz company, is leading the way in objective measurement of voice and video in mobile networks. SwissQual’s Applied Research department, a major contributor in the intellectual property of ITU-T Standard P.863 (see details at www.polqa.info), has developed and released a software algorithm for accurate measurement of video content. This new algorithm has been accepted by the ITU as the preferred method for objective measurement of non-referenced streaming video. Please visit www.swissqual.com for details on ITU-T J.343.1, also referred to as RST-V Model.
This approach eschews the antiquated method of measuring factors like throughput and signal strength, which are then used to infer customer perception.
Jeremy Cline, a mobile network testing product manager with Rohde & Schwarz, summed up the issue: “A customer could be measuring 200-plus Mbps download speed, but once their YouTube video freezes—even once—in the middle of viewing, that customer is instantly unhappy. The purpose of video quality testing is to ensure a better quality of experience. Providing better video quality has a direct impact on the service provider’s bottom line with reduced churn and more satisfied customers.”
In practical application, field techs need the ability to collect accurate data quickly and easily, while enjoying the flexibility to fine tune a particular test function.
SwissQual’s QualiPoc Freerider III provides an end-to-end solution that supports indoor benchmarking, network optimization and provides a one-stop-shop for video MOS analysis, all contained in a lightweight backpack. No other product can assist operators at pinpointing network related problems that contribute to poor QoE.
“Too often, technicians only measure parameters such as throughput and signal strength,” Cline said, “and assume that this translates to good video quality without looking at a customer’s perceived quality of experience calculation for video quality. We now provide video MOS to provide an all-encompassing view that allows a service provider to gain a deep level of insight into how satisfied customers are with their video experience.
For more information on the full line of industry-leading test and measurement solutions from Rohde & Schwarz, click here.
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