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Mobile Operators Are Being Crushed By the Demand for HD Video

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The demand for video is taking over mobile networks, reveals the spring 2019 Mobile Video Index created by Openwave Mobility and the Mobile Video Industry Council. While video made up 42% of mobile video traffic in November 2013, it was estimated to be 64% in November 2019.

Did that increase come from more people watching video on mobile devices or people watching higher-resolution video? While there were new consumers in that time period, higher resolutions get most of the credit (or blame). In developed countries half of all mobile video is 720p or 1080p. By 2025, 78% of mobile data will come from video and 40% of that will be 4K video. That will be a difficulty for operators already straining under the demands of HD.

The index also looked at video quality issues. Operators need to pay attention to quality of picture and quality of delivery. To viewers, quality of delivery is by far the more important area. Mobile viewers will only give a video six seconds to stop buffering and then many will turn away. Sadly, the average buffer time for mobile video is seven seconds, the index says. When buffering occurs, viewers usually blame the operator.

For more, download the full Mobile Video Index for free (registration required).

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