Smart devices need smart business solutions

“At a time when mobile broadband is set to grow at a scorching pace, these findings are a wake up call for the industry,” said Jürgen Walter, head of Business Solutions, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Indeed, with the increased availability and use of smart devices, operators cannot afford to lose any opportunity to make the experience on their networks comparable to that of their fixed-line counterparts’.”

Improving quality of experience requires an approach that examines all aspects of network performance. By analyzing smart device usage, applications and traffic patterns it is possible to create solutions based on hardware and software upgrades, analysis tools and professional services that will help operators enhance their customers’ mobile Internet experience.

According to the study, the most common mobile Internet activity is web browsing, with 92% of survey respondents saying that they surf the web with their mobiles at least once a month. Unfortunately, the satisfaction rate of mobile browsers is 14% lower than for fixed-line browsers, due to factors such as slower web-page loading. For example, when US users were asked about their satisfaction with individual operators, a clear difference emerges in the satisfaction with web page opening times. This suggests that there is an opportunity for operators to invest in delivering an improved mobile web experience to attract and retain customers.

To address this issue Nokia Siemens Networks has built a business solution around its industry-leading browsing gateway3, which reduces file download sizes by up to 90% without affecting the perceived quality of images, and significantly increases browsing speed. Thanks to virus scanning and parent control filters, a browsing gateway can also address security issues – obviously an area of concern for mobile phone and smartphone users, as globally only 56% stated they were at least somewhat satisfied with the level of security offered by mobile Internet access.

The second most common mobile activity is accessing email, which was done at least monthly by 81% of the global sample. It’s therefore no surprise that users expressed strong interest in single sign-on capabilities for email accounts, social network sites, and application stores, as well as interest in operator billing of their online activities. The Nokia Siemens Networks identity management solution enables single sign-on, which allows users to log in once – i.e., by entering the PIN code of their mobile phone SIM card – after which they can automatically use other services on the Internet. According to another Nokia Siemens Networks study4, on a global average 29% of the respondents stated they were interested in such a solution, with countries like the USA (49%) and Indonesia (43%) leading the pack. The most popular mobile services for which subscribers wanted single sign-on were mobile email (46%), instant messaging (42%) and mobile banking / payment (36%).

“The implications of these studies make it clear that a massive opportunity exists for operators to differentiate themselves, based not only on the network quality, but also on the quality of the business solutions that underpin their mobile broadband offering,” added Walter. “Mobile broadband users today are already noticing a difference in the quality of various operators’ offerings. Operators who proactively improve the mobile broadband experience from all angles will widen the gap between themselves and their competition.”

With over 800 network planning and optimization projects delivered every year, other strong assets such as the browsing gateway and identity management, and the Smart Labs, which focus on the relationship between smart devices, mobile apps, and networks, Nokia Siemens Networks is well positioned to enhance the mobile broadband experience for smart device users.

About Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of telecommunications services. With its focus on innovation and sustainability, the company provides a complete portfolio of mobile, fixed and converged network technology, as well as professional services including consultancy and systems integration, deployment, maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software and professional services companies in the world. Operating in 150 countries, its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Notes to Editor

1)    The Broadband Study was carried out to understand the drivers for fixed and mobile broadband usage, and study consumer expectations from broadband. The parameters for measuring the quality of the network included time for opening websites, upload and download speeds, quality of streamed videos and IPTV, security and stability of the Internet connection. The study was based on nearly 11,000 interviews conducted in 15 countries across the globe.

2)    On a scale of their experience between 1 – 10, mobile Internet users’ average rating for specific applications was up to 22% lower than fixed users’. The quality aspects for which perceived satisfaction was studied were:

• Overall satisfaction: mobile users 13% less satisfied than fixed users
• Time for opening websites: mobile users 14% less satisfied than fixed users
• Stability of Internet connection: mobile users 16% less satisfied than fixed users
• Download speed: mobile users 17% less satisfied than fixed users
• Upload speed: mobile users 18% less satisfied than fixed users
• Quality of streamed videos or IPTV: mobile users 22% less satisfied than fixed users

3)     In addition to its Browsing Solution and Single Sign On (Identity Management) solution, Nokia Siemens Networks’ offering within the scope of business-layer service improvements includes:

• Automated Device Management, which ensures that devices such as the new tablets have the right settings for mobile connectivity, thus enabling an excellent customer experience from the very beginning.
• Policy Control, which gives users the option to individually personalize their bandwidth and network response according to their desired experience and budget.
• Differentiated Charging, which allows operators to offer rate plans based on the amount of data consumed, maximum and minimum bandwidth speed, time of day, location, etc. This helps create attractive and differentiated rate plans to meet a broad range of end-user expectations and budgets.
• Security-as-a-Service enables operators to monetize on new revenue streams and increase customer retention by offering security services on top of communication services. This solution also addresses the needs of small and mid-sized enterprise customers that do not have in-house expertise and resources to manage their own security solutions.
• Proactive network monitoring and planning though Network and Service Assurance, which ensures that networks are adequately dimensioned to support the volumes and varieties of traffic that smart devices generate.
• Greater understanding of smart device specific user behavior through the Insight and Experience Framework, which gives operators direct and immediate insight into smart device users’ needs, quality of experience and satisfaction. Operators can then act on these insights in real-time.

4)     Nokia Siemens Networks “Pulse Tracker 2009”. Since 2002, the survey has covered 20 countries (e.g., Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, UK, USA), tracking the awareness, capability, and usage of mobile service, as well as the drivers and interests behind such usage. The latest survey, from October 2009, included 15,000 respondents.