Mobile Carriers Find Mobile Usage Relief in Wi-Fi Offload

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile network operators are now scrambling to include Wi-Fi in their service offerings as a way to keep pace with the unprecedented growth in mobile data demand, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider (www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks).

Network Operators Start to Figure Out Wi-Fi Offload examines current drivers for Wi-Fi offload and assesses implementation options, as well as potential evolutionary paths this trend and related technologies may take. It identifies 18 players in the vendor ecosystem and the components that are in use in a Wi-Fi offload scenario. It also explores evolving industry attitudes toward Wi-Fi, its migration from a user-centric to an operator-centric activity and the criteria that are most important to network operators as they pursue strategies for managed Wi-Fi offload.

For a list of companies covered in this report, http://img.lightreading.com/uni/pdf/mni0612_companies.pdf

"The usage of mobile data and content applications is growing much more explosively than anyone predicted, and is more than any 3G network can handle," says Dan O'Shea, research analyst with Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider and author of the report. "Beginning last year, many carriers started announcing their strategies to actively employ Wi-Fi offload to manage network usage and capacity."

The shift in service provider attitudes about Wi-Fi offload marks the transition of offloading from a customer-driven usage trend to an operator-driven managed activity, O'Shea says. "The remainder of this year and the near future are likely to witness a greater number of announcements of mobile carriers embracing Wi-Fi offload to address network traffic issues," he continues. "For now, however, deployments will vary greatly from one carrier to the next. A good number of them will likely continue to be simple, smart applications that focus on helping end users discover and smoothly move over to Wi-Fi coverage."

Key findings of Network Operators Start to Figure Out Wi-Fi Offload include the following:

• Shifting service provider attitudes about Wi-Fi mark the transition of offloading from a customer-driven usage trend to an operator-driven managed activity.
• After exhausting their budgets on 3G/4G upgrades that don't guarantee relief, mobile carriers have realized that Wi-Fi offload can offer them an affordable solution.
• The early user-driven smartphone movement and the increased acceptance of Wi-Fi offload as a carrier strategy have fueled a rapidly growing ecosystem of companies.

Network Operators Start to Figure Out Wi-Fi Offload is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (six issues) to Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks. For more information on all of Heavy Reading's Insider services, please visit www.heavyreading.com/research.

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About Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com)
Heavy Reading is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry. As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com), Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.

About Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com)
The Light Reading Communications Network combines the most trusted telecom research brands with award-winning online communities and a rich events portfolio to deliver the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.   With the power of this platform, leaders who build, deploy, finance, and regulate next-generation telecom networks are able to make more informed decisions on emerging market and service opportunities.  Light Reading Communications Network is a division of UBM TechWeb (www.ubmtechweb.com), the global leader in technology media and business information. 

SOURCE Heavy Reading