By: Tanya White, product marketing, Amdocs Radio Access Network (RAN) division

Network traffic is soaring. The volume of mobile data traffic across cellular networks is growing at 60 to 120% year-on-year for almost every operator globally, and the introduction of 4G services and other emerging technologies will accelerate the rate of growth in Thailand. The continuous increase in network traffic makes it an uphill struggle for mobile network operators (MNOs) to provide top-notch quality of experience (QoE). Operators know this trend only too well – it’s part of their daily lives. But what other trends are heading their way?

In our updated State of the RAN report, we highlight nine major trends that operators need to be aware of in 2016. And we offer advice on what operators need to do next to turn each challenge into an opportunity. Here’s a taster of some of the trends highlighted in Amdocs’ 2016 State of the RAN report.

VoLTE call drops can be 4-5 times higher than 2G/3G

The maturity of VoLTE is not where it needs to be yet. However, VoLTE is an important and strategic service for operators, offering the promise of eliminating 2G and 3G services, as well as their associated operational expenses. While VoLTE offers the not yet realized potential of differentiating through higher quality voice services, the dropped call rate poses a competitive risk. But it’s not all doom and gloom. As discussed in the report, with aggressive tuning of the network, operators can bring VoLTE call drops to within 20% of 2G/3G calling within six months. And longer-term, there is the possibility of competitive differentiation through higher-quality voice services.

Music and sports events create their own mobile ecosystems

Large-scale music and sports events create their own mobile ecosystem before, during and after their short lives. At events, SMS is surprisingly popular, as 70% of attendees send at least one text message during the event. Interestingly, there is a finite appetite for data-sharing at any single event, no matter what the duration. A four-hour event can often result in a similar level of data usage as a two-hour event, at around 35Mb per person. It is only international roamers that buck that trend, as they will upload 50% more data than non-roamers, saving and sharing the moment with people in their home country. The report highlights the need for short-term network allocation which takes into account people’s journey to the event location, as well as its duration. Not only can it save subscribers’ QoE around events but it can also increase revenues from data-hungry international roamers.

75 percent of network traffic in cities is in-building

A staggering 75% of network traffic in cities now originates indoors, despite younger demographics being savvier about switching to Wi-Fi indoors rather than using their mobile data allowance. In some instances, particularly for data traffic, operators have been a victim of their own success. When faced with patchy Wi-Fi in their home or work location, many subscribers will switch to their sometimes-faster LTE connection. The major issue with the dominance of in-building traffic is that in times of network congestion, indoor coverage suffers first with up to 25% more network issues experienced compared to outdoor users, thanks to the added difficulty of signals traveling through walls and windows. Though, as the report explains, there are ways through the issues. Operators can help their subscribers through better visualization of real-world patterns of demand, coverage and congestion. This paves the way to targeted network optimization, which will improve QoE and customer retention.

Operators are under significant pressure to deliver increasingly more capacity despite already substantial investments. Learn how you can squeeze more from your network and turn RAN challenges into opportunities.

Download the State of the RAN 2016 report for details on major trends and the actions that need to be taken to address them.

Figures within this blog were obtained from Amdocs RAN tools and services.

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About Amdocs
Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience software solutions and services for the world's largest communications, entertainment and media service providers. For more than 30 years, Amdocs solutions, which include BSS, OSS, network control, optimization and network functions virtualization, coupled with professional and managed services, have accelerated business value for its customers by simplifying business complexity, reducing costs and delivering a world-class customer experience.

The Amdocs portfolio enables service providers to capture the world of digital immediacy by operating across digital dimensions to engage customers with personalized, omni-channel experiences; creating a diversified business to capture new revenue streams; becoming data empowered to make business and operational decisions based on insight-based and predictive analytics; and achieving service agility to accelerate the fast rollout of new technologies and hybrid network services.

Amdocs and its 24,000 employees serve customers in over 90 countries. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Amdocs had revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2015.

Amdocs: Embrace Challenge, Experience Success.

For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com

Issued on behalf of Amdocs by SPARK Communications
For more information, please contact:
Maneechaya Sarasuk (Aiy), Sikkhawan Chotpradit (Gift)
Tel: 02 653 2717-9
Fax: 02 653 2720
aiy@spark.co.th; gift@spark.co.th