In a live webinar event, hosted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance, Monica Paolini explored the revenue benefits of Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) and the implications it would have on existing wireless data infrastructure. The findings were very positive.

“Fixed and mobile operators need to evaluate the business benefits of deploying NGH Wi-Fi and assess how they best complement their fixed and cellular networks as they plan their Wi-Fi networks. Our analysis presents a new perspective on the financial implications of the coexistence of these technologies,” she said.

Monica, who is president of analysis and consulting firm Senza Fili, began by giving a brief overview of NGH.

The defining features of NGH were highlighted:

  • Seamless SIM-based and EAP-TTLS authentication.
  • The ability to automatically detect and select networks.
  • The ability to steer subscribers toward preferential Wi-Fi use.
  • Automatic network discovery and selection.
  • The ability to define connection preferences through policies.

However, Monica quickly pointed out that while these features were well defined and were becoming increasingly well understood, the ‘business case’ for the implementation of NGH was still unclear to many.

From the perspective of the operator
With that, she went on the give a top-level overview of the benefits that operators might expect from NGH deployment:

  • An increased amount of data being offloaded to Wi-Fi networks
  • The ability to manage data policies with granular control, in order to leverage Wi-Fi access to support the cellular network
  • The ability to gain insight into subscriber experience
  • Tighter integration between the two networks, essentially turning Wi-Fi into a radio access technology
  • Support for location-based services such as geofencing and navigation to be utilised at indoor locations where GPS is not available

Digging deeper: A thorough analysis of revenue savings
However, Monica and her team did not stop there. Rather than simply highlighting key features of NGH, they carried out thorough analysis into tangible revenue savings that operators could and will experience by introducing NGH into their network strategy.

The takeaway findings were that networks sending 20 per cent of traffic through NGH Wi-Fi would experience 18 per cent lower per-bit radio access network (RAN) costs.

When NGH was combined with small cell infrastructure, the savings more than doubled to 38 per cent lower per-bit RAN costs.

“The converging efforts of organizations such as the WBA, GSMA and Wi-Fi Alliance bring new functionality and improved performance to Wi-Fi, leading operators to treat it as one of their core RAN technologies, integrating it alongside existing 3G and 4G networks,” Monica explained.

She concluded by forecasting that NGH Wi-Fi was to account for nine per cent of all global mobile traffic and $150 billion in service revenues by 2018.

Analysis: An optimistic future
Mobile operators across the globe are increasingly all on the same proverbial wavelength when it comes to the need to re-evaluate network infrastructure. Demands on networks are at an all-time high and the trajectory is only set to become increasingly precipitous. However, despite the widespread consensus that ‘more of the same’ is not a long-term strategy, it has been difficult to define a solid business case based on tangible, concrete data, rather than theoretical and abstract predictions. The study from Monica Paolini and her team has attempted to address this by basing the research on empirical and statistical evidence.

For the first time, there is a piece of research from the perspective of the operator, which lays out a clear business case for widespread deployment of NGH. With the Wireless Broadband Alliance in advanced stages of NGH trials, it appears that the future of mobile connectivity is bright.

Download the whitepaper now: https://wballiance.com/resource-center/white-papers/