Cheers to a Prosperous 2019: Congestion Management is Key

Smart phones are everywhere, and no one uses them more extensively for work and play than millennials and Generation Z. As digital natives, they’ve never known life without digital technologies. They expect Internet access to be ubiquitous and follow them everywhere they go.

Communication service providers (CSPs) are keeping pace with the explosive growth in traffic generated by digital technologies such as user-generated video and over-the-top (OTT) services. They’re investing heavily in their networks, but resource allocation is still a challenge during peak usage, especially at airports, train stations, concerts and sporting events. Traffic congestion is no longer an acceptable excuse for performance degradation, so how do CSPs avoid it?

They manage it. CSPs manage congestion by introducing elasticity into their infrastructures, allowing the radio-access network (RAN) to tailor connection speeds for specific circumstances. This RAN congestion-awareness function (RCAF) is already available in some business support systems (BSS), letting CSPs increase network capacity without making more capital investments in their infrastructures.

In addition to saving money, RCAF offers further opportunities for monetisation and enhancing the user experience. RCAF gives a CSP a massive competitive edge. Here’s how.

Subscribers pay more for prioritised service plans

Subscribers who pay more have faster connection speeds in congested areas. Connection speed is the same for all subscribers in non-congested areas.

Limit speed for heavy users

Unlimited data plans attract the most subscribers, but heavy users slow down connection speeds for everyone else. Limiting their speeds in congested areas results in a better experience for everyone. Connection speed is the same for everyone in non-congested areas.

Application control

The speed required to provide a good user experience varies from application to application. CSPs can prioritise their own applications and applications from third parties—if they pay a higher licensing fee. Users will experience zero performance degradation when they access priority applications in congested areas, but performance will decrease for non-priority applications.

Third-party application partners

Consider the future: CSPs have forged partnerships with third parties to open their platforms for integration. They’ve enriched their offerings, eliminated barriers to new markets and broadened their talent pools. User engagement and brand loyalty are at an all-time high.

During congested times, CSPs can alert partners about users who experience performance dips so partners can optimise delivery by sending lower-resolution content or by compressing/transcoding traffic into formats requiring less bandwidth.

The future is here, and Nexign can help

We understand the value of RCAF. That’s why it’s an integral part of our Network Monetisation Suite. If you’re serious about RCAF, get in touch with the Nexign team.

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