A STUDY by Norwegian software firm Opera Software All bared mobile operators in the Philippines can increase fourth-generation (4G) subscribers via video and data optimization.
Opera said one of its independent analysts reveals the Philippine market is composed of some 4G subscriber adoption (2.5 million) but a much larger proportion on 3G (22 million). The average data throughput in the base station cell-edge zones is estimated to be 365 kilobytes per second (Kbps) without optimization, findings from ABI Research revealed.
“Boosting the quality of experience by enabling 30 percent to 60 percent greater data throughput can boost overall subscribers by around 2 percent per year and increase the subscriber-retention rate equating to additional retained service revenues of $204 million over a five-year period,” the ABI research report said, cited by Opera Software’s Skyfire unit. The research revealed that mobile operators globally can benefit from a net gain of at least $28.7 billion over five years by deploying mobile video and data optimization technology in their networks.
The independent research, carried out on behalf of Skyfire, details how video and data optimization can The research reveals the positive impact on the quality of experience for users directly translates into reduced churn and subscriber-tariff upgrades.
“It can also dramatically reduce operators’ capital and operational expenditures through the expansion of virtual capacity, resulting in significant total-cost-of ownership [TCO] savings,” Opera said.
Key findings, based on a conservative assumption that if just one in three operators deploys video and data optimization technology, the savings and revenue boost will lead to churn-reduction savings of $12.947 billion; tariff-upgrade revenue boost of $6.481 billion; and, TCO reduction savings of $9.347 billion. Total savings and revenue is expected to hit $28.776 billion over five years, ABI research calculations show.
“Mobile video and data optimization technology play a significant role in all three areas. Churn reduction savings are brought about by boosting the quality of experience for users, which leads to additional revenues from retained customers,” Opera said in a statement.
“Operators can generate additional income from a proportion of end users through upgrades to higher tariffs, driven by improved quality of experience and, therefore, a greater desire for more data. TCO savings are based in part on boosts in software-based virtual capacity for mobile video, which result in more video being played successfully per unit of capital expenditures,” it added.
Using the same strategy and a conservative scenario of 2 percent, the company said ABI Research calculates that an operator in the Brazilian market can generate an additional $474 million in service revenue over a five-year period from its 3G and 4G subscribers, attributed to faster user data rates and improved quality of experience.