RAN analytics vendor Actix is recommending that operators should take a new approach and issue network traffic reports to subscribers in order to ease congestion and boost customer satisfaction rates.
In a statement, Actix claimed that in most major cities, 45,000 voice calls are generated per square kilometre and 800,000 3G data connections are made each day.
UK regulator Ofcom, meanwhile, predicts that the demand for mobile capacity will increase 80 fold by 2030.
“Given the data we are seeing we expect even 4G networks to slow and grind to halt in ‘traffic jammed’ locations where demand exceeds network capability,” said Neil Coleman, Director of Global Marketing, Actix.
“The idea of mobile operators issuing ‘traffic reports’ of where and when to make calls or use data sounds frivolous, but the reality is that operators are already tuning networks in specific locations to try to manage demand.”
According to research by Actix, currently five percent of locations carry more than 50 percent of traffic on a network, and 15 percent of locations cause an overwhelming 85 percent of all customer experience problems.
While operators are understandably not keen on marketing the fact that their network experiences congestion, Actix argues that by geo-locating activity spikes on the network in real-time and getting subscribers to move away from trouble hotspots could be a cheaper way to ease congestion, while improving customer experience.
“Highlighting issues with your network is not great marketing for an operator. But the reality is that they all suffer from congestion issues, with traffic jams in the network. From a subscriber point of view, better to be informed, than find you cannot make that urgent call or send a crucial email,” said Coleman.