LTE Diameter signalling traffic is exploding and is expected to grow at more than twice the rate of mobile data traffic by 2017, a new survey has found.
According to the Oracle Communications LTE Diameter Signalling Index, worldwide LTE Diameter signalling traffic will increase at 140 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 1.2 million messages per second (MPS) in 2012 to nearly 99 million MPS by 2017.
Diameter messages are used to enable authorisation, authentication, policy, charging and mobility management as well as for secure interconnection with roaming and OTT application partners.
The rise in 4G LTE networks has led to the sharp increase in messages per second (MPS) that the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) now has to handle, and policy MPS will triple in 2013 and 2014 as operators move to all IP networks.
“Digital lifestyle services represent new ways for operators to engage and retain subscribers, expand partnerships with content and device providers and grow revenue and profitability. Behind the scenes, the signalling that underpins these services will also naturally increase, as consumers benefit from the speed, efficiency and creativity of new LTE services,” said Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications.
While North America is the biggest contributor to Diameter signalling traffic and is expected to reach almost 43 million MPS in 2017, EMEA is the fastest growing region with 224 percent CAGR.
By 2017, the region is expected to deliver 17.9 million MPS, driven by roaming between both countries and between 3G and 4G LTE networks.
“LTE subscriber growth is the prerequisite to LTE Diameter signaling growth. While Oracle¹s growth forecasts are impressive, we expect LTE Diameter traffic to maintain or even exceed such sharp increases beyond the forecast range,” said Informa principal analyst Dimitris Mavrakis.
“The two reasons are the projected LTE subscriber additions in developing markets, particularly China and India, and the range of new services enabled by software-defined networking.”
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