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Why Video is the Next Basic Telecoms Service

By WILLIAM XU

People are visual creatures. Sight is our dominant sense, the only one to which an entire lobe of the brain is devoted.

It should come as no surprise, then, that video dominates the Internet. TV, movies, live sports broadcasts, games, and, yes, advertising, are everywhere. Increasingly, when we talk about user experience, we are talking about video.

Moreover, the quality of video content is getting better all the time. 4K video takes the dynamic range and colour gradations in an image and aligns them more closely with the processing capabilities of the human brain. And after a long build-up, Virtual Reality (VR) has finally arrived. Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are shipping, and fans of Sony Play Station can look forward to a VR version of the game due out in October.

More than just entertainment

VR games and movies will no doubt be spectacular. But VR’s impact will extend far beyond entertainment. It has already begun playing an important role in industry. Real-world data from factories are being used to build virtual training environments for employees, while auto makers are using VR for virtual test drives and other applications. Soon, advances VR technology will help enterprises innovative more effectively, operate more efficiently, and do a better job managing risk.

Pressure on the Pipe

Yet this new emphasis on high-definition visual content will put growing pressure on the fixed-line and mobile networks through which video images are sent and received. Photorealistic VR will require bandwidth in excess of 5Gbps – more than 50 times what the average 4G network can deliver today.

Beyond a certain point, pressure on the networks will start to erode video quality – which, as it happens, accounts for about 80% of how consumers perceive their online experience.

The new basic telecoms service

All of this means that video is now a front-and-center issue for telecommunications providers, as well as being a basic service comparable to voice and text. To capture a slice of the growing video market, telcos must ensure that their networks deliver a video experience that meets customers’ constantly rising expectations.

But in a predominantly visual environment, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What counts as a satisfactory experience may vary from one user to another. How do you measure the quality user experience for video?

A quest for quality

In response to this problem, Huawei developed a video experience measurement system called U-vMOS which helps operators evaluate the experience of various video services on different networks and screens. It lets telcos create an objective, numerical measure of what is usually a subjective experience. This sort of measurement tool gives telcos a real advantage in an Internet dominated by video.

While many companies are involved in VR directly or tangentially, few will focus on the network over which video data is transmitted. Huawei is one of the companies heavily researching technologies such as 5G mobile technology, which will enable VR to live up to its potential by supporting transmission speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second.

Even before 5G’s expected commercial rollout in 2020, transitional technologies are laying the foundation for the world of high-resolution, high-speed video. Huawei is partnering with Singaporean carrier Starhub to deliver 1Gbps over 4G technologies – more than enough throughput to stream content to today’s VR headsets.

While consumers see video and VR mainly as entertainment, they will be much more than that. Video will be used to deliver information, services, and education, while making cities safer and more liveable. It will also be the next basic service that allows telecoms operators to build differentiated competitive advantage and create business value.

I welcome your thoughts on how to begin this transformative journey.

William Xu is Chief strategy marketing officer, Huawei Technologies

 

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