Real-time video set to take off: Study
February 23, 2009
She's listening ...
More than half of this country's wireless carriers plan to launch, or increase access to, real-time video services over the next two years, according to a study by Global IP Solutions.
Smaller carriers will be keen to launch these services and determine ways to either productize real-time delivery of Internet video, or launch video communication services that perform within their network's operational and cost constraints.
"Mobile networks in the United States have been evolving to allow greater amounts of bandwidth for data services," the Global IP Solutions study says. "In addition, technological hurdles have been overcome to allow next-generation services such as real-time video and VoIP.
"However, there has been quite a bit of uncertainty regarding carriers' commercial interest in providing these services, and what the drivers and barriers are that could provide such opportunities."
According to the Global IP Solutions study, in order to compete with larger players, smaller carriers are offering more Internet access and are pursuing flexible IP communication applications from third parties.
Almost half of wireless carriers surveyed are enthusiastic about delivering open platforms for third-party software developers.
As carriers deploy next-generation mobile broadband networks, opportunities have expanded for advanced communication capabilities like real-time video.
Sprint, for instance, has a relatively advanced 4G program stemming from its investment in Clearwire and is planning further WiMAX rollouts over the next two years.
Similarly, Verizon's chief technology officer Dick Lynch is noted for saying that his company's mobile broadband LTE deployment would likely begin by the end of 2009, a move aimed to encourage real-time IP communications.
Carriers are generally open to the idea of offering real-time video services.
While only AT&T Wireless has thus far launched a video conferencing service, most hint that the service is coming.
AT&T is interested in both enterprise and consumer customers. The carrier's Video Share application is only one-way video, but with the ability for a simultaneous voice conversation.
Significant additional service rollouts are generally expected to occur within the next two years.
Respondents cited various drivers behind the emergence of real-time video on the network.
Sprint views real-time video as a communication mechanism, including video chat, for rollout in the near term, suggesting timelines of upto a year.
Verizon is similarly bullish regarding video and real-time video.
Smaller carriers have several challenges in gaining relevant market share, including less support from handset manufacturers and less ability to develop relationships with content providers.
There is therefore opportunity to help them launch competitive video services and productize Internet access within these constraints.
While regional and local carriers are happy to provide video services that might compete with the incumbent wireless carriers, they feel at a disadvantage in providing applications, given they have less access to content providers, and less influence over handset manufacturers.
"The counter-attack for these carriers is to provide open Internet access which is more difficult to control and risks high bandwidth usage," the study says. "This opens the door for third-party software developers to offer applications riding on the smaller carrier networks."
U.S. carriers are generally interested in the idea of an open platform, whereby software vendors can easily launch their real-time video products or even VOIP products on a carrier-approved handset.
Almost half of those interviewed expressed enthusiasm for such a platform. Verizon has already established its well-known Open Development program, designed to enable application and handset vendors in the Verizon network ecology.
For instance, several carriers cited Google's Android operating system as an interesting model.
"Smaller carriers feel such platforms are ripe opportunities to help them compete against the larger carriers," the study said. "But they also feel beholden to the handset manufacturers."