Streaming Media to Mobile Audiences

Networks must provide subscribers with congestion-free service. One way to address congestion as subscriber numbers rise is to build bigger, denser cellular networks so that that they are effectively over-provisioned and underutilized. But this makes an extremely unattractive business case for mobile operators.

CellGlide’s Mobile Traffic Shaping solutions offer one approach to the problem. "Over-building infrastructure helps avoid the congestion," explains Eran Barak, director of corporate development at CellGlide, "but a platform that manages packet priorities can deliver the right subscriber experience and economic value from streaming, as well as other business applications of mobile data that require Service Level Agreements." CellGlide equipment monitors and tracks the requests for data services from users across collections of cells, and according to various priorities, can delay, throttle, or block these requests. In the process, Cellglide technology also reduces redundant requests and data transmissions. Prioritization can be based on the application (e.g. streaming video over email), the service plan (e.g. the premium plan over the value plan), or even the end-user (e.g. Warren Buffet or Donald Trump over the "low revenue" subscriber).

Others in the mobile video industry believe that for video streaming (if not video messaging), and certainly for videotelephony, the appropriate quality of service will only be met by moving the video and audio over to the switched-circuit side of the mobile network. The switched-circuit side of 2.5 and 3G networks provides low latency, relatively evenly-flowing transmissions, and seemingly dedicated connections that are less subject to choking by some other multimedia-imbibing user wandering into the cell.

Looking Ahead
When asked, several technology and infrastructure vendors say mobile videotelephony is the next frontier. But for RADVISION customers, videotelephony is already a reality. "Mobile videotelephony has been deployed in by NTT-DoCoMo’s (the world’s largest mobile service provider) network for two-and-a half years," points out Eli Doron, RADVSION’s chief technology officer. "They currently have 2 million subscribers, and all their new phones are videotelephony capable. Hutchison 3G is deploying these services around the world as well. During 2004, we will see another ten or so operators launch video telephone services, and in 2005 most of the rest will join."

Gareth Jones, chief operating officer of 3UK (the brand name for Hutchison 3G UK Limited) agrees. "International video calling is here," assures Jones. "Making a video call is as easy as making a normal phone call from your mobile, but they have much more impact, as you can see the person with whom you’re speaking. As a means of keeping in touch, international video calling allows you to see how friends and family are doing. Or maybe you have work contacts that you’ve never met. A video call will allow you to meet them for the first time." And, at typical international videotelephony calling rates in the neighborhood of $2.00 per minute, one can understand why service providers are as excited as the technologists, equipment vendors, and early adopters. Visionaries are confident that the end-user value is there as well. As Nextreaming’s Shawn Ambwani sums it up, mobile videoconferencing and videotelephony will be the natural evolution of video messaging and streaming media. "People want to be more closely connected," Ambwani states, "both in their in personal and business lives. Business is about people and levels of trust. Seeing people improves levels of trust and so mobile video helps get more business done."

Nonetheless the mobile videotelephony technology to which Eli Doron is referring, GSM-H.324M, necessarily builds on 3G mobile network technologies (W-CDMA in the case of work RADVISION is doing with NTT-DoCoMo). The opportunity to combine video telephony and streaming media in new and seamless ways will eventually drive service providers to advance their networks yet one more generation.