Telecom operator Vodafone said its smartphone customers will have better viewing experience when they watch video such as Reels thanks to efforts of Instagram-owner Meta for optimising the delivery.
Vodafone customers in 11 countries — including Albania, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the UK — will achieve better video experience when they access short-form video such as Reels on their smartphones.
The association between Vodafone and Meta Platforms assumes significance as global telecom operators including Vodafone have asked Big Tech companies to share a part of the telecom network cost for building the network.
“Meta’s willingness to optimise the delivery of video for its applications leads the way for a more efficient use of existing network resources,” said Alberto Ripepi, Vodafone’s chief network officer.
“Vodafone and Meta have implemented these optimisations across Vodafone’s European markets and intend to continue collaborating to foster additional efficiencies,” Alberto Ripepi said.
Vodafone said the optimisation resulted in a low double-digit reduction in Meta’s data traffic on its British network during a trial in April, freeing up capacity in busy locations like shopping centres and transport hubs.
Meta’s vice president of network engineering Gaya Nagarajan said the company was committed to working with innovative partners like Vodafone, device manufacturers, equipment vendors and the wider digital ecosystem to push the boundaries of video optimisation.
Demand for video on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube is driving relentless growth in data usage on mobile networks, Reuters news report said.
TikTok and YouTube are yet to reveal their action plans to enhance customer experience when customers access their video on smartphones.
Total monthly global mobile network data traffic reached 145 EB in Q1 2024. Global mobile traffic increased 25 percent in the 12 months to the first quarter of 2024. Video accounted for 73 percent of all mobile traffic by the end of 2023, according to Ericsson’s 2024 Mobility Report.
Ericsson SmartphoneLab study said a downlink throughput at click of 20 Mbps and an uplink throughput at click of 1 Mbps is required for a great smartphone user experience, given popular web and streaming video content. Beyond these speeds, user experience only improves marginally.
Telefonica said last week it was also working with Meta on optimising video traffic delivery on its Movistar networks in Spain.
Enrique Blanco, CTIO of Telefonica Group, noted Telefonica and Meta tested configuration significantly reducing video traffic in real network conditions while maintaining the user experience, resulting in the decision to expand this technology to other relevant Telefonica markets.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
