Press Release
04-29-2014
Wireless 20/20 Study Finds MNOs Can Offload 4X More Data and Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Per Subscriber by 35 Percent with wefi Mobile Network Management Solutions
Analysis Shows wefi Improves Efficiency of Wi-Fi Networks While Boosting Traffic Volumes
Boston, MA and New Windsor, NY – April 29, 2014 – wefi, the market leader and pioneer in mobile network management for cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, and Wireless 20/20, a leading broadband wireless advisory group and developer of the WiROI™ Business Case Analysis tool, today announced results of a study to uncover the economic impact of offloading 3G/4G data to Wi-Fi for intelligent network selection for mobile devices based on crowdsourcing.
Analysis utilizing the custom version of Wireless 20/20's WiROI Business Case Analysis tool found that MNOs can offload 4X more data and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) per subscriber by 35 percent when wefi's WeANDSF and wefi UXT mobile network management solutions were deployed in their networks. The study also showed that wefi's solutions increased the utilization of Wi-Fi networks by load balancing the network to seamlessly move users between cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks based on the best network available.
With the steady rise of smartphones and wireless devices enabled with Wi-Fi, subscribers are relying on Wi-Fi for data access for a higher portion of time to ensure their 'always connected' experience. Wi-Fi has shifted from being a niche experience to an important means of data access for most mobile subscribers. For this reason, Wi-Fi has become a strategic extension of cable and mobile operators' networks offering cost advantages for offloading subscribers and broader connectivity in areas where cellular network coverage or capacity is constrained.
"Mobile operators are challenged to achieve adequate network economics. Intelligent network selection tools, such as wefi's, help operators significantly reduce the cost of building and operating their Wi-Fi networks while enhancing the customer experience to instill customer loyalty and retention," said Haig Sarkissian, Principal Consultant at Wireless 20/20. "Using the WiROI tool in a typical MNO business case, our analysis shows operators can reduce the cost of building and operating a Wi-Fi network by as much as 68 percent in OpEx and CapEx spending, while achieving the same amount of offload capacity."
wefi and Wireless 20/20 conducted a simulation exercise utilizing the WiROI tool to find quantifiable benefits of wefi's solutions. The results were based on data that simulated scenarios in the New York City area. Results highlight how operators can quantify potential financial and ROI benefits of wefi's mobile network management solutions. Findings include:
- With wefi, MNOs are able to offload 4X more data and MSOs are able to better identify users who can see their Wi-Fi networks, but can't connect to them.
- The amount of data offloaded to the Wi-Fi network increased from 7 percent when wefi technology was not used, but up to 27 percent when wefi client technology was used.
- When Wi-Fi networks are deployed with wefi network intelligence, fewer access points are needed to achieve the same amount of offload.
- In the same New York City example, with wefi's solutions, only 3,600 access points were needed to support 130,000 subscribers carrying the same amount of trafficócompared to 11,000 access points without wefi.
"Our solutions can analyze massive amounts of real-time data on Wi-Fi hotspot locations and conditions to give operators real-time feedback on the quality of Wi-Fi networks," said Zur Feldman, wefi CEO. "This enables operators to offer a superior quality experience to subscribers whose demands for access to data and content are soaring, while maximizing their network resources to maintain profitability targets."
Wireless 20/20's WiROI™ Business Case Analysis tool can incorporate real usage data from the wefi UXT and Intelligent Network Selection solutions powered by its WeANDSF protocol for enhanced access network discovery and selection function. The WiROI Tool can model all of the technical, financial and commercial parameters for an operator's 3G and 4G network deployment. By modeling all CapEx and OpEx spending against revenues for a 3G/4G network, the tool outputs a complete 10-year income statement. The addition of the Wi-Fi offload module enables the analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) trade-off between deploying a Wi-Fi offload network and adding additional capacity into the 3G and 4G network. Further, the new version of the WiROI Tool allows operators to pinpoint the optimal Wi-Fi coverage and access point density that will maximize the return for an operator.
The combination of wefi's UXT and WeANDSF enables MNOs and MSOs to ensure their subscribers are always connected to the best base station or access point, and that additional infrastructure is only deployed precisely where needed to cover gaps in a coverage area or to enhance available capacity. This helps contain capital and operational costs in addition to providing the best end user experience possible. Major MNOs and MSOs such as Time Warner Cable rely on WeANDSF and UXT as key components of their Wi-Fi efforts.
"Our collaboration with Wireless 20/20 and their award-winning WiROI tool is a great benefit to service providers who are seeking solutions to help make better-informed decisions about how best to invest their limited resources to achieve maximum impact. This in turn can help them deliver the best network experience to their subscribers," said Feldman.
About Wireless 20/20, LLC
Wireless 20/20 is a consulting group focused solely on the broadband wireless market. Wireless 20/20 has helped over 60 broadband wireless operators around the world build business cases, analyze market opportunities, complete technology and vendor selections, and develop network roll out strategies. Our principals have been engaged in the broadband wireless industry since its inception and have a thorough understanding of the technical, business and product issues surrounding the development of wireless devices, equipment, networks and services. For more information visit: www.wireless2020.com.
About wefi
Through its Wi-Fi network management solution and comprehensive hotspot database -- the industry's largest with over 200 million hotspots -- wefi extends investment in infrastructure Wi-Fi networks and assures that wireless carriers, cable operators and streaming media content producers can deliver subscribers the best mobility experience in a data dependent world. wefi's patented and patent-pending technology provides customers unparalleled visibility into the use of Wi-Fi connectivity, both on and off their own networks, allowing operators to better plan networks, predict usage and deliver the best network connection based on custom connection policies. For more information visit: http://www.wefi.com.
WiROI™ is a trademark of Wireless 20/20, LLC.
Media Contact:
Robin Bestel
610-428-5845
robin@wireless2020.com
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