Operators Plan Massive Growth in Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi to Meet Customer Expectations, New Research Finds

New network planning and management tools critical for enabling monetization of carrier-grade Wi-Fi

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Dec 03, 2014, 06:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Amdocs, the leading provider of customer experience solutions, today announced at Small Cells Americas the results of new, independent research exploring the transition from "best-effort" to "carrier-grade" Wi-Fi networks among Multiple Service Operators (MSOs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). This transition comes in response to new end-user expectations for improved capacity and quality for "everywhere" content, and the need to support new revenue streams.

The Amdocs-commissioned research, conducted by Real Wireless and Rethink Technology Research, reveals plans for massive growth in carrier-grade Wi-Fi, the different strategies operators intend on deploying and the technical barriers to be overcome. According to the research, service providers realize that "best-effort" Wi-Fi is becoming less profitable and that new revenue streams can only be built once a higher quality of experience (QoE) is assured. This higher QoE is necessary for services such as TV everywhere, health monitoring, enterprise voice, online gaming, media streaming and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services. The survey also highlights the criticality of tools for carrier-grade network planning and performance management, spanning both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, to enable the leap to new Wi-Fi services.

Key findings include:

Carrier-grade Wi-Fi hotspots will grow from 14 percent today to 72 percent of overall Wi-Fi hotspots by 2018
As part of their Wi-Fi network strategy to enable Wi-Fi coverage on the move, by 2016, 77 percent of service providers plan to use "homespots" (where the user agrees to leave the hotspot open for use by passers-by), growing from 30 percent today
Almost all operators (85 percent) plan to invest in carrier-grade Wi-Fi by 2016. MSOs see carrier-grade Wi-Fi providing better positioning in mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deals, supporting quad-play offerings and wireless services, while MNOs plan to use carrier-grade Wi-Fi to broaden their networks and offload radio access network (RAN) traffic
By the end of 2016, 61 percent of MSO's Wi-Fi hotspots, and 70 percent of MNOs', will be sourced from third parties to take advantage of shared cost savings and accelerated deployment, up from 45 percent in today
Two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents placed the lack of strong network planning and management tools in their top three risk factors for investing in carrier-grade Wi-Fi, with 65 percent stating that their existing tools will not extend well to Wi-Fi without additional investment.

"Service providers are starting to see Wi-Fi as a strategically important offering that can enhance or damage their reputations and which needs to support a user experience comparable to that of cellular networks," said Oliver Bosshard, Managing Consultant at Real Wireless. "Best-effort Wi-Fi networks are not controlled from the operator's core network or operational support systems tools, and the access points often do not support any form of traffic management or prioritization. As a result, operators are unable to monitor or address performance issues such as congestion, meaning they cannot guarantee QoE - properties such as connection speed, latency or prioritization that are all critical to enable the monetization options for Wi-Fi."

"Because quality of experience is essential to current and future network monetization strategies, operators need to have the right planning and management tools in place. These are areas that are critical to the business case – to ensure optimal and cost-efficient roll outs, and to provide detailed analysis of network behavior and customer usage, which can feed into improved quality of experience," said Rebecca Prudhomme, vice president for product and solutions marketing at Amdocs. "Amdocs network solutions allow service providers to maximize network capacity and deliver quality of service based on real-time customer insights while enabling greater cost-efficiency."

The research was conducted between August and October 2014, with Wi-Fi managers from 40 service providers in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America.

Visit Amdocs at Booth 40, Small Cells Americas, December 1-3, Dallas, to find out more about Amdocs network solutions, including Amdocs Network Rollout Solution, Amdocs Wi-Fi Experience Solution and Amdocs Smart Net.

Supporting Resources

Download the research white paper "The leap to carrier-grade Wi-Fi and its monetization potential"
Learn more about the Amdocs CES portfolio including Amdocs Network solutions
Keep up with Amdocs news by visiting the company's website
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About Amdocs

For more than 30 years, Amdocs has ensured service providers' success and embraced their biggest challenges. To win in the connected world, service providers rely on Amdocs to simplify the customer experience, harness the data explosion, stay ahead with new services and improve operational efficiency. The global company uniquely combines a market-leading BSS, OSS and network control and optimization product portfolio with value-driven professional services and managed services operations. With revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2014, Amdocs and its more than 22,000 employees serve customers in over 80 countries.

Amdocs: Embrace Challenge, Experience Success.

For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com

Amdocs' Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs' ability to grow in the business markets that it serves, Amdocs' ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future; however, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013 filed on December 09, 2013 and our quarterly 6-K forms furnished on February 11, May 15 and August 18, 2014.

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