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Mobile video: The new frontier
To help mobile operators conquer the mobile video market and monetize the service,
Huawei Business and Network Consultancy services offer the knowledge and experience
on what it takes to build a full end-to-end video ecosystem.
Dr. Jose L Gil
Huawei Mobile Broadband Consultant
Mobile video ecosystem
components
a good selection of video transport technologies,
A
a proper business case, will not drive mobile
establish key deals with content producers and
The race for the conquest of mobile
content providers as a prerequisite, followed by
video started long ago, but very few in the
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systems. But deployment of eMBMS, without
profitable mobile video business
video by itself. Huawei Business and Network
requires an understanding of
Consultancy services offer mobile operators the
the complex end-to-end video
knowledge and experience to build a full end-to-
ecosystem, from content producers
end video ecosystem, from business development
to content providers. Mobile operators must
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such as unicast and broadcast (eMBMS)
to network implementation.
Mobile video: The new frontier / Focus
mobile communications industry have an
because it is the point at which multiple media
understanding of the intricacies involved in
channels are aggregated and distributed to the
developing a successful proposition. There is no
edge/last-mile networks responsible for delivering
doubt that the experience accumulated over the
the media content to the end user. The service
past years will shape the future mobile video
provider domain usually includes three functions:
business, but mobile operators already looking
broadcast, head-end and data center.
beyond traditional video streaming traffic will
Broadcast domain: Once the media
have a higher likelihood of setting the basis for
content is produced, the next step is to broadcast
success.
it over a national or regional territory. Satellite
Video has become a major part of mobile
systems are commonly used to broadcast the
network traffic – 50% on average. However, is
media content over a large geographical area.
this video traffic being monetized? In general,
Cable TV operators typically receive the content
the answer is no. Whether video traffic is 5%,
via satellite. Other systems, such as terrestrial
50% or 90% of a monthly data allowance, the
radio frequency systems or fiber systems, are
mobile operator gets the same revenue from the
also used. Even a mixture of all these systems
user.
can be found in many cases. The broadcast
E2E ecosystem for mobile
video
Three domains can be distinguished in the
domain can distribute the content to last-mile
networks or directly to the end user. Nowadays
it is also pertinent to mention the importance of
the Internet to make media content available to
the end user directly from the media producer.
end-to-end mobile video ecosystem: content
Head-end domain: The head-end function
provider, network provider, and service provider.
is necessary to convert the media content into IP-
Content provider domain
The content provider domain is owned
based streams. Powerful hardware units transcode
the media content into different IP-based
formats.
by the producers of the media content.
Data center domain: The data center (DC)
The producers of films, national news or
domain is an important component of the end-
documentaries are examples of content
to-end mobile video system that contains, among
producers.
other elements, the security systems, which
Network provider domain
ensure that only authorized paying subscribers
access the broadcast content. Security solutions
The network provider domain corresponds
are divided broadly into two categories –
to the last-mile telco that provides the media
conditional access systems (CA) and digital rights
content to the end user. These networks can be
management systems (DRM). The CA system
any type, but in this article we consider mobile.
ensures that only authorized subscribers access
Service provider domain
the media content. The DRM system ensures
that the content owner’s business model and
The service provider domain is also known
rights are implemented. Encryption and security
as the distribution or aggregation domain,
keys are typical functions implemented as part of
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Focus
the security solution. Other functions found in
Multi-cell Entity (MCE): manages
the DC are related to network management and
eNodeB radio resources and schedules eMBMS
billing.
transmission.
In today's mobile networks, video content
An eNodeB only requires a software upgrade
is delivered to the end user through unicast
to support eMBMS. However, one important
transport. Unicast means that the network
requirement for eMBMS is that the entire LTE
establishes a one-to-one dedicated connection
network (eNodeB's + EPC) must be synchronized
to the end user. If the same video content
in time and phase. This requirement is already
is downloaded by another user at the same
satisfied in TDD networks, as TDD operation
time, the network establishes another separate
requires eNodeB synchronization. However,
dedicated connection to the second user. From a
FDD networks are typically unsynchronized,
transport efficiency standpoint, the new solution
and the introduction of eMBMS requires the
multicast/broadcast (eMBMS) is being trialed
deployment of a synchronization solution for the
by certain major mobile network operators. This
entire network. The most typical synchronization
solution is a one-to-many network connection
solution is GPS-based, but other alternatives
where the same video content is transmitted just
exist such as IEEE-1588 or Ethernet Synch. One
once and received by multiple users, therefore
additional requirement is the enablement of IP
saving scarce network resources. While the
multicast within the core and radio network. This
multicast/broadcast is still not widely deployed,
can typically be achieved by a software upgrade,
it is gaining momentum. Unicast and multicast/
or activation of the IP multicast protocol
broadcast transport mechanisms do not compete,
within routers, and some possible additional IP
but complement each other, and will always co-
planning.
exist on a mobile network. This is because of the
The basic network architecture for eMBMS
differing natures of different video applications.
can be complemented with a connection to an
Video applications such as video on demand
IPTV system and/or a CDN network.
(VOD) imply a unicast transport method,
because the user downloads video content at any
time.
From an architectural perspective, the
In today's mobile networks, up to 50%
introduction of eMBMS does not require major
of total data traffic (and even more in some
new network elements on top of existing LTE.
networks) is video. For a mobile operator to
Only three new entities are required:
monetize mobile video content, it would be
Broadcast Multicast Service Center
necessary to define tariff plans where video is
(BM-SC): authenticates and authorizes the
charged separately, currently a big challenge due
content provider and forwards video content
to tariff competitiveness among operators and
to the eMBMS gateway inside the mobile core
other issues such as net neutrality.
network. Manages the broadcast/multicast
sessions.
eMBMS GW: forwards the video content
and session control information to the eNodeB.
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A vision for mobile video
The increasing volume of traffic generated
by mobile video pushes the mobile operator to
increase network CAPEX and OPEX. But will this
result in more revenue? It might increase revenue
Mobile video: The new frontier / Focus
that determines the network video
Business use cases and content deals are the most important
factors that drive mobile video monetization. Such business cases
must drive the next step – network implementation. However, it
is the type of video content to be delivered that determines the
network video solution, and not the other way around.
solution, and not the other way around.
Delivering video content in a Formula 1
circuit to enable all spectators to watch
the race requires a broadcast system
(eMBMS) installed in the F1 circuit.
The delivery of interviews or marketing
information at the Mobile World
Congress requires a mobile broadcast
indirectly by creating more expensive
create new in-house teams with video
system (eMBMS). VOD requires a
flat tariffs with larger data quotas. This
expertise, as illustrated in the previous
unicast solution.
is probably the most straightforward
end-to-end video ecosystem section, or
Mobile operators already trialing
and established method for mobile
rely on external consultancies such as
or deploying eMBMS systems without
operators to monetize mobile video.
Huawei BNC. Some possible use cases
a solid business case with established
However, it is indirect, and offers little
where mobile video can offer singular
video content deals run the risk of not
control. To establish a direct cause-effect
value and open successful revenue
getting a return on their investment.
relationship, mobile operators should
streams are:
There are some in the industry who
establish solid relationships with video
content producers and providers to offer
Football stadiums: goal replays,
souvenir advertising, and food offers.
believe that a lot of the current
video traffic transported over unicast
premium content and targeted video
Tennis matches: replays key shots
connections can be transferred to
applications to end users. Such video
(it is difficult to see all shots from all
broadcast systems, such as eMBMS,
content must be attractive and valuable
court angles).
for a more efficient and cost-effective
to mobile users, suited to smaller screen
Formula One: The whole circuit
transport method. However, the
sizes, and different from what fixed
cannot be watched from a single seat
majority of the current video traffic is
operators or terrestrial broadcasters can
but, with the help of an in-situ eMBMS
VOD, which is unicast, and therefore
offer.
mobile network, the race can be viewed
not suitable for a broadcast system.
from a subscriber’s mobile device.
To send unicast traffic efficiently over
Premium or differentiated mobile
video content is the way to monetize
Smart cities: display restaurants,
a broadcast network, it would be
mobile video. Huawei's Business
information points, banks, traffic levels,
necessary that a large number of users
and Network Consultancy (BNC)
etc.
concentrated in the same geographical
team houses experts from different
Other events: broadcast live
area decided to view the same content
backgrounds in video/OTT, capable
interviews, event information, paid
at the same precise time, which is
of helping mobile operators establish
ads, live advertising, and live remote
highly unlikely for VOD applications.
key deals with content producers and
auctions.
Huawei Network Consultancy services
content providers. Mobile operators
Business use cases and content deals
have already been working for some
must pay close attention to establishing
are the most important factors that
time on technical solutions to help
these deals because they are the route
drive mobile video monetization. Such
operators design, deploy and manage
to revenue. However, these deals
business cases must drive the next step –
video network solutions such as
might be costly and therefore risky. To
network implementation. However, it is
eMBMS.
reduce this risk, mobile operators must
the type of video content to be delivered
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