Four-fold increase in network traffic on iPad's in last six months
Mobile network data demand on iPad's has grown four fold in the last six months, according to new data.
According to Actix, provider of software that enables operators to run more effective mobile networks, data demand from Apple tablets is now clearly impacting mobile networks.
iPad 2 and iPad 3 rank sixth and seventh in the list of Actix' most data hungry devices. These iPad's consume three times more mobile data than an average smartphone, the company claimed, creating a four-fold increase in network traffic from iPads in the past six months and the first time any tablet has been amongst the top 10 ranking devices.
Neil Coleman, marketing director of Actix, said: 'The easy availability of iPad's with a mobile network contract is now impacting growth in data demand on the mobile networks as users demand a connection wherever they are and whatever the device. This is the second phase in the mobile data revolution started by the iPhone in 2007 and impacts on mobile network operators' ability to deliver an effective subscriber experience.'
As data demand increases, greater strain is placed on the mobile network, particularly the Radio Access Network (RAN), which is the increasingly complex infrastructure between the subscriber's handset and the core network, remarked Actix. Actix data shows that 85% of all current customer experience problems occur in the RAN.
'Unless operators are able to understand how subscribers are using the network, where and with which devices, the growth in demand for mobile data will lead to more dropped data sessions and go slows. Only with accurate data on people, places and devices can real insight be gained to maximise coverage and capacity where it is needed most, to deliver the best subscriber experience possible,' said Coleman.
By assessing device usage in real time and then geo-locating these findings to street level, Actix is able to accurately show how mobile networks need to change as a result.
