Mobile experience on wireless differs from perception
February 13, 2013
The Citrix ByteMobile Mobile Analytics Report for the first quarter of 2013 provides insights into subscriber behaviour and related factors that determine quality of experience (QoE) for mobile data services today. The findings highlight subscriber behaviour on various mobile applications and the impact this has on operator networks. In conjunction with the report, consumer survey findings were also published by the company to compare consumer perspectives against behaviour patterns. The data points to a contrast between what mobile device owners think they know about their devices and plans, and what the reality is when consuming content.
“These findings are unique in comparing actual subscriber behaviours on wireless networks with what people think their usage patterns are like,” said Chris Koopmans, vice president and general manager of Service Provider Platforms, Citrix. “Combining the ByteMobile report with the consumer survey provides additional insight into subscribers’ views of their mobile experiences and the impact this behaviour has on operators’ networks. This real-world data is further validation that network providers need to improve their subscribers’ mobile experience in order to differentiate their services and better monetise an increasing volume of traffic.”
The Mobile Analytics Report summarises data traffic patterns from a global cross-section of Citrix ByteMobile customers’ mobile networks and provides insight into the current state of the mobile ecosystem. The report illustrates how subscribers use their wireless devices and the impact of such use on operator networks. Among the findings:
The Mobile Analytics Report reveals that 20 per cent of subscribers watch mobile videos on a given day, with 74 per cent of consumer survey respondents seeking out most videos they watch. Of the videos consumed on mobile devices, 92 per cent are low-resolution video at 360p or less. However, a majority of survey respondents (64 per cent) said they thought they were viewing high-resolution video. This indicates a clear disconnect in the quality of video a subscriber thinks they are consuming versus the reality. The latest report further reveals that two out of 10 mobile subscribers watched video on mobile devices, generating more than 50 per cent of the total mobile data traffic on wireless networks. Today, mobile video subscribers watch an average of two minutes of video content at a time, doubling the time spent consuming video as reported in the February 2010 Mobile Analytics Report.
In addition to video, mobile Web usage also consumes a large amount of mobile data traffic, and the consumer survey shows that people require speedy download times or they will abandon the effort. Nearly a third of survey respondents give up in eight seconds or less, pointing to the need for more mobile Web pages to download at this speed.
While approximately 50 per cent of mobile Web pages download in eight seconds or less across wireless networks, 20 per cent of pages requested take longer than 20 seconds to download. When it comes to a poor mobile Web experience, more than half (51 per cent) of mobile device owners blame their provider, while 49 per cent blame the website. The Mobile Analytics Report confirms that wireless networks across North America deliver the fastest Web page download times in the world.
The Mobile Analytics Report discovered mobile advertisements containing video content generate 10 times more data per advertisement than those without video. Interestingly, the report revealed the top four advertising networks, both by subscriber reach and total data volume generated, are owned by Google – Double Click, Google, Admob and 2mdn. For smartphone subscribers, mobile advertisements consume one per cent of the total monthly data traffic generated. While minimal, this per centage is expected to increase as mobile advertising continues to grow.
Mobile gaming continues to be popular among subscribers. The report found that the three most popular games played while connected to a wireless network are Words with Friends, Temple Run and Angry Birds.