Vodafone: 75% Growth in Mobile Traffic During H1 2015

Vodafone published its H1 results (here), with some interesting stats its services:

• 30m 4G customers (+10m in H1) in 19 markets
• H1 mobile data traffic up 75%
• record 400 petabytes of mobile data carried in Q2.

See "Vodafone Group Plc Half year results" - here.

Vodafone India Launches a Seamless Wi-Fi Offload App

ETTelecom.com reports that "Vodafone India, the country's second largest telecom operator, has rolled out its wi-fi offload application, which will shift data traffic away from the cellular network and help decongest it. The move comes amid rising subscriber complaints about inconsistent data speeds over the cellular network, with 3G dropping to 2G speed frequently as mobile internet usage surges in India.

Vodafone Wi-Fi Connect is available on Android and iOS platforms and requires a one-time sign-in. It will come into effect anytime the user enters Vodafone's wi-fi zones in Delhi and Mumbai. It has about 100 such zones in total.

The seamless authentication of customers with the mobile network profile was a key integration challenge, experts said. Vodafone India didn't respond to ET's queries.

Rivals such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Aircel are also looking at wi-fi as an alternative that can be deployed in parallel with the existing macro base-station network, making more spectrum available for data usage.

The company added 1,100 3G sites and 1,000 2G sites in the quarter as part of its Project Spring initiative. 3G coverage in targeted urban areas increased marginally to 91% from the previous quarter's 90%". 
  
See "Vodafone India aims to decongest 3G data networks via Wi-Fi offloading app" - here.

Vodafone: Video Portion Jumped from 37 to 48%; Does 4G Increase ARPU?

Vittorio Colao, 

CEO, 

Vodafone Group

Vodafone published its annual report for 2015 (here). The "CEO Strategic Review" has some interesting facts on Vodafone's activity:

• We have witnessed exceptional demand for data this year, whether 4G in Europe or 3G in emerging markets, with data growth totalling 80% for the full year, and accelerating every quarter in Europe. As video and music services proliferate, and data coverage widens and becomes more consistent, customers are increasingly using their smartphones and tablets for entertainment, work and social interaction.
   
• Our 4G customer base has quadrupled to 20.2 million. While progress has been rapid, still only 13% of our European customer base is on 4G, providing us with a very substantial opportunity for future growth.
   
• With quicker network response times, better in-building penetration and higher peak speeds, 4G is stimulating significant growth in data, with usage typically doubling when customers migrate from 3G to 4G .. Higher usage has helped drive higher revenues per customer in some markets, especially

Europe 4G customers

Europe average smartphone data usage

• As customers use more and more data it is important that we monetise this.  Higher usage has helped drive higher revenues per customer in some markets, especially in the UK where 4G data usage trends are particularly strong. In some markets, average revenue per user (‘ARPU’) has continued to fall as the benefit of increased data usage has not offset the fall in market prices
   

• 4G is driving an increase in data usage, both in absolute and per-user terms. On average our 4G customers use twice as much data as our 3G customers and that has helped average smartphone usage increase from 473MB to 755MB during the year. This is supported by the large increase in video streaming, which now accounts for 48% of data traffic.

Security VAS Deployments [357]: Vodafone [Germany, Portugal, Italy and Romania] Uses Allot

Allot Communications announced that "Allot WebSafe Personal is powering Vodafone Germany’s newly launched Secure Net offering, a network-based Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS) solution for mobile users. Through full integration with the Allot Service Gateway, Allot WebSafe Personal enables Vodafone Germany to rapidly roll out value-added web security services including anti-malware and parental control that increase customer loyalty and generate incremental revenue. Vodafone Germany’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) and enterprise customers are also served by Allot’s SECaaS solution, which protects user endpoints and enhances business productivity" (see also "IFA 2014: Secure Net – effective protection against internet threats" - here).

Vodafone's SecureNet service is also available in Portugal, Italy and Romania. Allot confirmed that they all use the same solution, which is based on Optenet technology, a long time partner (here) that was recently acquired by Allot (here).

"Any broadband operator can deploy Allot WebSafe Personal in multi-tenancy mode, which allows consumers to customize their own security settings, or in a single-tenancy mode that offers a standard set of security features for all users. The service also offers on-demand reporting, enabling users to generate their own reports that outline online activities in easy-to-read graphs". 

See "Vodafone Germany Makes Web Surfing Secure With Allot WebSafe Personal" - here.

Vodafone India: "We are Pro-Net Neutrality"; Waiting for the Rules

 
Pankaj Doval, reports to The Times of India that "Vodafone, India's second-biggest mobile operator [see chart below for March 2015 data], has refused to follow Bharti Airtel in launching a zero-rating platform [see "Airtel: The Internet, with Our Airtel Zero, is Neutral" - here] , the decision coming at a time when telecom regulator Trai and the Department of Telecom (DoT) are looking into the entire gamut of issues related to net neutrality.

Sunil Sood, [pictured] , CEO, Vodafone India said: "We are waiting for the rules .. Vodafone is a supporter of net neutrality and does not believe in "blocking" or "throttling" the internet .. We are pro-net neutrality... we do not block the internet or direct the internet." 

Asked to comment on the criticism of Airtel Zero plan, he said, "I believe it's a trivial matter. It was just a price plan .. applications offering voice communication facility — such as Skype, WhatsApp and Viber — should follow the same regulations as mobile operators"  [see "Indian MNOs to Surcharge VoIP Traffic" - here and "Airtel wont Surcharge VoIP; TRAI: "not in accordance with net neutrality, it was not illegal" - here].

See "Vodafone won’t toe zero-rating plan of Airtel" - here.

Vodafone Spain Tested LTE Broadcast at Valencia FC Game

Thomson Video Networks announced that its "ViBE® VS7000 multi-screen and HEVC encoder was chosen by Vodafone Spain and Valencia Football Club for Spain’s first live trial of an LTE Broadcast network on May 17. Vodafone Spain and Valencia CF used the ViBE VS7000 to distribute five simultaneous channels of live HD content to fans’ mobile devices in Mestalla Stadium during Valencia CF’s last Spanish League match against Celta de Vigo"
Related post - "Vodafone LTE Status: Traffic, Video, Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE, Video Broadcast" - here. 

"As an eMBMS-ready solution, the ViBE VS7000 provided the video encoding technology for converting the HD content to mobile formats during the trial. Offering a full IP video solution tailored for Web TV and OTT service delivery, the ViBE VS7000’s built-in support of MPEG-DASH, integration with eMBMS, and rich interfacing capabilities, made it the perfect choice for this eMBMS LTE Broadcast solution"

"Vodafone Spain’s successful LTE Broadcast trial delivered exclusive video content to Valencia CF fans in the arena via a new application on their mobile devices. Designed to enrich fans’ enjoyment of the football match, the content was tested using the 4G network infrastructure that Vodafone has deployed in the stadium and delivered in real time over five separate HD channels". 

See "Vodafone Spain and Valencia Football Club Complete Successful Trial of 4G LTE Broadcast Distribution Using Thomson Video Networks’ ViBE® VS7000" - here.

Vodafone: "4G adoption stimulating data demand"

One slide from Vodafone's recent quarterly report (here):

[UK]:"Unlike some countries", All ISPs Voluntary Signed for the Net Neutrality Code

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) announced that "all of the UK’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have now signed up to a voluntary Code of  Practice in support of the Open Internet.

The Open Internet Code [here] was launched in 2012, building on previous work on the transparency of traffic management. EE, Virgin Media and Vodafone have recently signed up to the Open Internet Code, meaning that all major ISPs, operating across both fixed and mobile networks, are now signatories.

Matthew Evans [pictured], CEO of the BSG which facilitated the code, said: “Unlike some countries where net neutrality has become a controversial topic for discussion, the UK benefits from a fiercely competitive market and high levels of transparency – which together offer the best assurance of an Open Internet. The Code now provides an even stronger and more effective foundation, whilst also allowing for an environment where new business models for internetbased services which benefit consumer choice can thrive.”

The signatories of the code are: BT, BSkyB, EE, KCOM, giffgaff, O2, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone. 

By agreeing to the code, they confirm that they will:

1. Ensure that full and open internet access products, with no blocked services, will be the norm within their portfolio of products.
    
2. Provide greater transparency in instances where certain classes of legal content,applications and/or services are unavailable on a product. These products will not be marketed as “internet access” and signatories will be obliged to ensure that any restrictions are clearly communicated to consumers.
    
3. Not target and degrade the content or applications of specific providers.Content providers are able to raise potential cases of targeted and negative discrimination with ISPs. If they are not satisfactorily resolved, these issues will be lodged with the BSG  who will share them with Ofcom and government. This initiative, which the BSG was asked to undertake on behalf of the Government, builds on the transparency code of practice published in 2011 which ensures that clear, understandable and comparable information on traffic management practices is available to consumers.

See "Remaining ISPs commit to the UK’s Open Internet Code" - here.

Indian MNOs to Surcharge VoIP Traffic

While Airtel subscribers may enjoy free accesss to Facebook and Google (here and here), the Leading Indian MNO is going to surcharge VoIP services, a common step in the fight against OTT services.

In other countries, such a move led to tight Net Neutrality laws (Singapore, Netherlands).

Telecom Lead reports that "Indian telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has increased VoIP call charges to 4 paise / 10 KB for 3G service to take on OTT players. For comparison, Bharti Airtel charges 0.25 paise per 10 KB for traditional 3G data .. its rivals such as Idea Cellular and Vodafone India are expected to follow suit, leading to a debate over net neutrality.

At the end of June 2014, Airtel had over 209M subscribers,

Source: Airtel Investor Presentation: Nov, 2014

“We have made some revisions in the composition of our data packs and will offer VoIP connectivity through an independent pack that will be launched shortly. Our customers can continue enjoying voice calls over data connectivity by opting for this VoIP pack, or simply use VoIP services on pay-as-you-go basis,” a Bharti Airtel statement said.

See "Airtel takes on OTT with higher VoIP call charges" - here.

SON Deployments [331]: Vodafone Hutchison [Australia] Uses Amdocs

Amdocs announced that "..Vodafone Hutchison Australia has deployed Amdocs Self-Optimizing Networks (SON) solution [see "Amdocs Acquires Celcite for $129M; 2014 Expected Revenues (w/Actix):$68-103M" - here and "Amdocs Positions Actix/Celcite as its SON Solution" - here] to help with the program to improve its 4G coverage and customer experience across Australia. The solution helps Vodafone to free up 850 MHz spectrum previously used for 3G, so that it can be used for LTE. The 850 MHz spectrum is the most widely supported low-band spectrum currently supported by 4G smartphones and tablets, and provides a superior customer experience with fewer dropped data sessions.

Benoit Hanssen [pictured], CTO Vodafone Hutchison Australia, said: "The Self-Optimizing Network technology is playing an important role in the deployment of our low-band 850 MHz 4G network," said . "…and it allows us to differentiate our network experience across our 3G and 4G networks, in particular where we see dynamic traffic behavior",

See "Vodafone Hutchison Australia Deploys Amdocs Self-Optimizing Networks Solution" - here.

UK: 4G vs. 3G QoE Tested

Ofcom published its first research into "..consumers' experience of mobile broadband in the UK since the 4G auction in 2013. The research measured the performance of 4G and 3G services on smartphones from the four main mobile operators - EE, O2, Three and Vodafone - in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester". 

Using smartphones, some 210,000 tests of 4G and 3G mobile broadband were carried out both indoors and outdoors across the five UK cities between March and June 2014 .. The research compared the performance of 4G and 3G services overall and highlighted variations between operators across four key measures: Download speed, Upload speed, Web browsing speed and Latency". 

See "4G and 3G mobile broadband speeds research" - here.

PCC Deployments [319]: Vodafone [Australia] to Deploy (Virtualized) Ericsson

Ericsson announced that "Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has chosen Ericsson as a sole supplier to replace and upgrade the complete core network for their national network. With the latest core technology, including Ericsson's solutions for Evolved Packet Core and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), policy control and circuit-switched core, VHA will further enhance network robustness, performance and resiliency .. Over the period of the 5 year agreement Ericsson and VHA have committed to fully virtualize their core network". 

Vodafone Hutchison Australia was formed in June 2009 following a merger between Vodafone Australia and Hutchison. VHA provides mobile services to 4.9 million customers in Australia (June 2014). 

See "Vodafone Australia selects Ericsson for network evolution"- here and "Vodafone to build network of the future" - here.

Allot's 5th Tera Deal - $5M Order (VF UK?)

 
Allot Communications announced that it "received a $5M order from a Tier-1 mobile operator for the Allot Service Gateway Tera. The Tier-1 operator requires the platform’s service enablement capabilities to introduce a large-scale subscriber offering later in the year. 

This is the 5th order for the Allot Service Gateway Tera from Tier-1 customers since the beginning of the year" [see "Allot Launched the New Service Gateway; Orders from 4 Operators (over $9M)" - here]. 

Rumors are that the customer is Vodafone UK. Vodafone announced recently a deal with Netflix for their 4G network (here) that could be described as "a large-scale subscriber offering".

Vodafone may need some support by the DPI equipment to support this considering, for example, that VF's largest 4G service plan has a 9GB data cap, which does not allow much of HD viewing time in addition to all other application used or even some video optimization capabilities.  

See "Allot Service Gateway Tera Gains Momentum amongst Global Operators" - here.

Vodafone: Our RED Service Plan Defends Revenues from OTT

In its annual report (for March 31st, 2014) Vodafone explains that for its consumer business - "Our Vodafone Red plans are now available in 20 markets and we had 12 million customers at the year end. These bundled plans provide our customers with unlimited voice and SMS, and generous data allowances.

We continue to enhance the Red proposition through the introduction of additional features, including improved access to technical support, attractive roaming packages, shared data and family plans [see "Vodafone Shows Shared Data Plans Benefits (to Vodafone)" - here], early handset upgrades, storage and back-up in the cloud, and device security. These enhancements provide customers with greater freedom of usage, whilst at the same time defending revenue from “over-the-top” applications and stabilising ARPU"

See "Vodafone announces results for the year ended 31 March 2014" - here.

Vodafone LTE Status: Traffic, Video, Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE, Video Broadcast

Some statements and slides from a recent Vodafone webinar on LTE (here):

• Carrier aggregation: Initial deployments in Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal to date; Speeds up to 300Mbps achieved

• VoLTE: We will begin enabling VoLTE in Europe from H1 2014 and deployed in many markets in next 12 months
   
• eMBMS - enabling the broadcast of video and content over 4G - 1st live eMBMS trials in Europe: Germany at Borussia Mönchengladbach's stadium (here)
   

• Many more evolutions of 4G to come:
   
• Network Function Virtualisation:  Migration of processing capabilities from dedicated network hardware to the Cloud
   
• Self-Organizing Networks: Automatic optimization of radio networks, improving voice & data performance

Vodafone: LTE (2M Subscribers) and Unlimited Plans Improve ARPU

Vodafone's Dec 2013 results (here and here) provide some information on data services, including the roll-out of LTE ("4G") and RED, Vodafone's unlimited plans.

"We have continued to make progress with our Vodafone 2015 strategy. 9.8 million customers are now on Vodafone Red plans, and we remain on track to meet our upgraded target of 11-12 million customers by March 2014 .. Our 4G services are now available in 13 countries and we now have around 2 million 4G Red customers in Europe. Data consumption has increased significantly, with customers using on average double the amount of a 3G plan. Group data usage grew 64% year-on-year, with Europe up 44%, and AMAP [Africa, Middle-East and Asia Pac] up 110%" .

See the slides below for the data usage growth, Application usage, ARPU etc.

Amdocs: Telus [Canada]; TIM, Nextel [Brazil]; Vodafone, Telefonica [Germany] Selected Actix/Celcite

Amdocs announced "a number of customer wins [and expansions] for mobile network optimization capabilities resulting from its recent acquisitions of Actix [see "Amdocs Acquires Actix ($120M) to Provide Geo-located Network Information" - here] and Celcite [see "Amdocs Acquires Celcite for $129M" - here]:

[see also "Amdocs Explains Celcite/Actix Business" - here]

• TIM Brasil [here] to improve data traffic transmission across Brazil
   
• TELUS (Canada) for 3G and LTE geo-location and radio access networks (RAN) consolidation into a single, unified solution that will enable TELUS to improve customer experience while realizing significant engineering efficiencies
   
• Nextel Brasil (NII Group) selected ActixOne to be one of the network optimization solutions for its recently deployed 3G network in Brazil
   
• Vodafone Germany to continue Vodafone's strategic RAN optimization program to increase efficiency, improve customer experience and enable advanced optimization
   
• Telefónica Germany added 2G optimization to the company's existing ActixOne optimization platform and extended 3G and LTE coverage to 100 percent"

See "Amdocs Announces Customer Sales Momentum for Mobile Network Optimization" - here.

Vodafone Shows Shared Data Plans Benefits (to Vodafone)

Paolo Bertoluzzo [pictured], Vodafone's Group Chief Commercial and Operations Officer, highlighted "Vodafone differentiation" during Vodafone's 2013 H1 presentation (here).

The first differentiation factor seems to be Vodafone's RED - its "worry free" mobile plan [see "Vodafone to Offer Multi-Device and Family Plans (End of 2013)" -here] that includes shared family and device billing. The following slides show the benefits to Vodafone:

[Juniper Research]: Analytics May Save MNOs $9B by 2018

Great savings for MNOs are just around the corner: while SDN will save them $4B by 2017 (here), big-data analytics will do more than twice: $9B.

A new report by Juniper Research finds that "The continued deployment of analytics platforms is expected to deliver combined savings and incremental revenues to MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) totaling more than $9 billion by 2018, .. Greatest savings are expected to result from reduced customer churn and more efficient capex allocation, with MNOs also able to derive significant revenues through the licensing of opted-in subscriber data to third parties".

"Some operators – such as Telefonica [see "Telefonica to Monetize on its Mobile Analytics Data" - here] and Verizon – have established in-house business units to offer aggregated subscriber data to enterprise customers, while in the UK, Everything Everywhere (EE), Telefonica O2 and Vodafone have founded the advertising joint venture Weve".

See "Harvesting ‘Big Data’ Offers Network Operators a $9bn Cost Savings & Revenue Opportunity by 2018: Juniper Report" - here.

Vodafone Egypt Deploys Ericsson Mobile Broadband Charging [for 10M Subs]

   

After seeing data traffic growing by 94% during the last 4 quarters, Vodafone Egypt is expanding the service flexibility provided to its subscribers.

Ericsson announced that it ".. has been chosen by Vodafone Egypt to deploy Ericsson Mobile Broadband Charging (MBC), which will provide up to 10 million users [Vodafone Egypt is 40M subscribers] with a vast array of data options and more flexible on-demand subscriptions .. This solution, which is being integrated into the operator's existing Ericsson Charging System, gives users the flexibility to utilize the best plan for their needs at any time. Already fully implemented for all Vodafone Egypt's prepaid data users, the system will soon be rolled out for postpaid subscribers - with the total subscriber base expected to top 10 million data users in 2014".

See "Ericsson deploys flexible data charging for Vodafone Egypt" - here.