Streaming Media Europe
The
smartphone has overtaken the tablet as the go-to device for TV
Everywhere consumption; the U.K. is poised to lead the world in
mobile connectivity; telcos will gain more spectrum, but not quickly
enough; and LTE-Broadcast is coming to market.
Video
is the largest and fastest-growing segment of mobile data traffic,
which in turn is driving significant increases in internet traffic.
IGR projects that mobile video will account for 71 percent of all
mobile network data traffic in 2016, and according to the Mobile
Analytics Report, published by Citrix in September, video generates
42 percent of daily data traffic volume on any given network.
In
its Mobility Report (June 2014) Ericsson concludes that rising
smartphone subscriptions are the main driver for the rise in video
over mobile. In Western Europe, mobile data traffic is expected to
grow more than 8 times up to 2019. The improved speed and capacity of
high-speed packet access (HSPA) networks, combined with the
deployment of LTE, will fuel consumer demand for a better user
experience.
Globally,
Ericsson finds that video is the largest contributor to traffic
volumes on any device and represents 35 percent of the mobile data
traffic associated with smartphones and 50 percent on tablets. These
figures are roughly comparable to those from BBC iPlayer, for which
requests to view from tablets (37 percent) and smartphones (24
percent) now dominate. Yet smartphone usage on iPlayer is growing
more quickly (at 32 percent year-on-year) than tablet video requests
(25 percent), a trend mirrored in macro findings from the latest
Adobe Video Benchmark.
Indeed,
the smartphone has overtaken the tablet as the go-to device for TV
Everywhere consumption.
Adobe
reports that 13.6 percent of video starts are instigated from
smartphones, while 13 percent come from tablets. Video requests to
smartphones rose 59 percent over the last year, more than double the
29 percent rate of increase of tablet requests. Adobe attributes this
growth in smartphone video use to larger screen sizes (the iPhone 6
Plus, for instance, boasts a 5.5" display) and rising
penetration of the devices.
Ofcom
figures report that 44 percent of U.K. homes own a tablet (up from 25
percent in 2013) and that six out of 10 Britons own a smartphone
(Deloitte puts the figure at 35 million people) and are consuming
video in various forms, including streaming movies and TV, UGC, and
video telephony, over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
U.S.
and U.K. users prefer Wi-Fi to cellular networks because of better
network speed, cost, and reliability, according to Ericsson.
Global
mobile subscriptions are expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2019, with
5.6 billion of these being for smartphones.
“The
rapid pace of smartphone uptake has been phenomenal and is set to
continue,” Douglas Gilstrap, senior vice president and head of
strategy at Ericsson,
says in the report. “It took more than 5 years to reach the first
billion smartphone subscriptions, but it will take less than 2
[years] to hit the two billion mark.”
Its
research also noted that by 2019, almost two-thirds of the world’s
population will be covered by 4G/LTE networks.
As
a result, video advertising on mobile phones is on the march. In the
first half of 2014 mobile video advertising grew 196 percent to £63.9
million (about $100.4 million) and is now the fastest-growing digital
ad format, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau U.K. Digital
Adspend in a report conducted by PwC.
“Mobile’s
share of the digital ad pie has tripled in 2 years, accounting for a
fifth of total spend—rising to nearly a third of display and over
half of social media ads,” says Dan Bunyan, manager, PwC.
“As 4G becomes more prevalent and phone screens become larger, it
will play an even bigger role in driving digital ad
spend—particularly video.”
4G
on Fast Track
4G
services are leading to a rapid increase in demand for mobile video,
with subscribers on 4G mobile networks being 1.5 times more likely to
watch video than subscribers on 3G networks, according to Citrix.
The
report found that 4G subscribers are more likely to watch long-form
video content and watch it at a higher resolution. “LTE (4G)
clearly drives increased demand for mobile video,” Anna Yong,
senior product marketing manager at Citrix, said in an accompanying
release. “On average, each request results in longer viewing times
than 3G as demand shifts from more short-form content such as that
hosted by YouTube, to longer-form content such as that hosted by
Netflix.”
However,
European 4G network coverage lags behind that of the U.S., where at
least 19 percent of the country had coverage compared to just 2
percent in Europe at the start of 2014, according to mobile operator
trade body GSMA.
John
Giusti, GSMA’s head of policy, blamed this on delays in the release
of the 800 MHz band. “There is not yet meaningful take up of 4G in
Eastern Europe, and in Western Europe the percentage is only 3
percent compared to 25 percent in the U.S. and 24 percent in Japan,”
he says.
There
are business impacts. “In Europe live streaming from cameras in the
field is just starting up,” says Gustav Emrich, JVC's European
product manager. “There is a demand, but in terms of network
coverage and rollout of 4G LTE, Europe is far behind the U.S. Even in
Germany if you stray too far from a major urban centre connectivity
will fall away.”
Neelie
Kroes, the outgoing EU commissioner for digital agenda, made it her
mission to urge member states to license their 4G spectrum,
facilitate investment in wireless broadband, and extend coverage
beyond urban areas. In a keynote to the industry at IBC she said,
“It’s time for EU countries to put 4G deployment at the top of
their digital to-do list, and support a true digital single market.”
The
EU expects 80 percent of the EU population to be covered by LTE by
2018. The GSMA projects that LTE will make up 53 percent of
connections in Europe by 2020, and coverage will reach 91 percent of
the population. Those projections mean rapid growth, which began in
2014 as operators in most major European territories began rollout,
and will really fly in 2015.
Deutsche
Telekom, Europe’s largest carrier, is rolling out a 4G network in
Germany. Other carriers include Dutch operator KPN, Norway’s
Telenor, and Telia Sweden—but it is the U.K. market and in
particular Everything Everywhere (EE) that are leading the way.
The
joint venture, forged by T-Mobile and Orange (and bought by BT in
February 2015), has made the most of its full year jump-start on
competitors. In return for yielding a slice of its 1800MHz spectrum
in 2012, EE got to use part of its existing 3G bandwidth to launch
4G, and by end of 2014 had 6 million subscribers and over 75 percent
national U.K. coverage, with 100 percent on the cards by 2016.
After
launching a year later, in August 2013, Vodafone and O2 are aiming
for 98 percent coverage by end of 2015. Deloitte expects total 4G
subscriber numbers to exceed 10 million by the end of 2014 in the
U.K. Regulator Ofcom demands that 4G reach 98 percent of the U.K.
population by the end of 2017, but rollout looks ahead of that
target.
So
much so that U.K. networks are exploring advanced services. After a
trial across East London’s Tech City (home to Google and multiple
high-tech businesses), EE plans to spread LTE-A, promising speeds up
to 300Mbps to other major U.K. cities by early 2015. Vodafone has
announced the same, beginning with London, Liverpool, and Birmingham.
Vodafone Spain has already rolled out LTE-A in three cities, and
Swisscom is preparing to launch LTE-A in 2015. O2 parent company
Telefonica has begun testing LTE-A in Germany.
EE's
ambitions further include trials of a 400Mbps service, which would
make it the fastest 4G provider in the world. Those speeds are likely
to first be seen at Wembley Stadium, the national sports venue in
north London, with a wider rollout planned for 2016.
From
lagging far behind mobile broadband economies such as South Korea and
even the U.S., by 2017 the U.K. may have leapt into the lead.
So
confident are telecom operators of business based on video that two
of them are launching TV services. EE will market a £300 (about
$471.51) STB with access to Freeview channels and BBC iPlayer. This
will compete directly with YouView, the collaboration between
broadcasters and broadband companies including the BBC and TalkTalk.
While it was a home TV service on launch, EE plans to migrate the
service to its 4G network. In response, Vodafone—which already runs
multiplatform TV services in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the
Netherlands—also announced its intention to open a similar offer in
the U.K.
Reporting
company earnings in November, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said that
one-fifth of its mobile data in Europe is from its 4G network. “Video
and audio today is 40 percent of the total traffic. Video is
increasing to almost 90 percent in Europe,” he said. “YouTube and
Facebook are helping to drive this growth.”
The
EU is also investing €700 million (about $872 million) in 5G
technology, which is reckoned to be deliver speeds around 10 times
faster than 4G connections. It’s also looking for commercial
spending to bring the total to more than €3 billion (about $3.74
billion). 5G standardisation isn’t expected until at least 2020
although LTE and LTE-A is considered part of it.
“We
need to think beyond borders and come up with a global approach
towards 5G by the end of 2015,” Kroes urged. “5G will offer
totally new possibilities to connect people, and also things—cars,
houses, energy infrastructures. However, we are still a decade away
from 5G deployment and we still do not have an EU-wide 4G network on
which 5G will be built.”
In
November, Nokia signalled its intention to build a test case for 5G
in the north of its native Finland.
Europe
Poised to Open Up Spectrum
The
debate about spectrum can be a dry topic, but the decisions on its
allocation have far-reaching consequences for industry and consumers.
The
immediate debate hinges on the 700MHz UHF band currently used to
service 250 million people in Europe with free-to-air digital
terrestrial TV.
FTA
broadcasters might have to cede this frequency to mobile operators
after a recommendation to the European Commission. Pascal Lamy’s
report, commissioned by the EC and published in September, proposed
that 700MHz be dedicated to mobile usage by 2020.
The
report also proposed that the remaining UHF spectrum below 700MHz be
safeguarded for broadcasters until 2030.
Debate
over the resource intensified during the year with compelling
arguments heard from both sides. Those in the mobile camp maintain
that even getting hold of 700MHz to boost 4G and LTE-Broadcast
capacity) by 2020 is several years too late.
“Limiting
Europe’s flexibility on the possible coexistence of mobile and
digital broadcast services until 2030 will discourage investment in
world-leading mobile networks,” Anne Bouverot, director general of
GSMA, said in response to Lamy.
“Europe
is at risk of falling behind in terms of global competitiveness,”
added GSMA’s Giusti. At IBC he questioned whether terrestrial TV or
mobile provided greater economic contribution.
“The
answer is unambiguous. In 2013 the economic value of mobile in the EU
was €269 billion (about $335 billion) compared to €48 billion
(about $59.8 billion) for digital terrestrial television (DTT) and
radio. We estimate that the divide will grow stronger with mobile
value increasing 77 percent in the next decade and TV dropping by 50
percent in the same time frame.”
EU
figures suggest that viewing to DTT has dropped by 10 percent in the
past year. Some broadcasters are moving toward a broadband-only
content delivery—the BBC’s decision to axe BBC3 from the airwaves
and make it online-only from 2015 is a case in point.
Countering
the broadcast lobby’s argument that DTT provides valuable public
service, Guillaume Lebrun, director of spectrum and technology policy
at Qualcomm, says, “Mobile is also an enabling force in ecommerce,
vehicle, and home connectivity, health and education.”
The
EBU naturally takes the opposite line. The case against the cost of
clearing DTT from the spectrum outweighed the benefit of the switch
by a factor of four, it says. “There is no proven demand for 700
MHz yet, and 800 MHz is not fully deployed,” says Simon Fell, EBU
director of technology and innovation. Recognising that mobile
traffic will increase by 50-60 percent by 2017 he suggested most of
that growth will be absorbed by Wi-Fi.
Comcast
weighed into the debate with an eye-catching calculation that were
mobile broadband charges chalked up the same way as Wi-Fi is used to
stream video, it would cost $2,000 to watch every episode of Breaking
Bad in a month.
Protecting
the spectrum until at least 2030 is also important to protect
investment in new public broadcast services such as HEVC codecs for
UHD. Tests on this in 2014 included sending 4K live feeds of the
World Cup from Brazil and over the DTT infrastructure in the U.K.,
organised by the BBC.
“The
Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast live to 190 million people. How
is that possible over mobile?” Fell asked. “The value to the
public is immeasurable and cannot be reduced to a rolling 2-year
contract.”
In
the U.K., Ofcom
is assessing the situation and believes that even if 700MHz were
allocated to mobile free to view TV can still be safeguarded. The
German government and its FTA broadcasters come to a similar
conclusion and plan to use HEVC and new DTT transmission scheme DVBT2
in a rollout beginning 2017. For broadcasters this means DVBT2 can be
used to deliver mobile broadband services and should prevent any
culling of bandwidth below 700MHz.
“I
welcome the migration by terrestrial networks from 700MHz but to
discuss spectrum below that would destroy the DTT platform,” says
Lars Buckland, secretary general, Broadcast Networks Europe.
The
debate is characterised as black and white, when in reality a balance
needs to be found. “Rather than exercising judgement we could take
a massive gamble based on ideological belief or political
imperative,” says Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Digital UK. “Now is not
the time to risk Europe’s most popular TV platform on shaky
business models and uncertain economics. DTT will be the backbone of
free-to-air broadcast for many years to come. This is not about
sticking our head in the sand. If we don’t innovate in the way we
use spectrum we don’t deserve to hold on to it.”
LTE
Broadcast: From Test to Commercial Reality
The
broadcast mode of LTE (eMBMS/Evolved Multimedia Broadcast and
Multicast Service), in combination with HEVC and MPEG DASH, is being
tested to address growing consumer demand for video services.
Video-intensive
bandwidth demands explain why mobile video is such a drain on the
network, but by multicasting live content over cellular networks,
carriers could conserve valuable 4G capacity. By using LTE-Broadcast,
carriers could reduce demand on networks by 12.5 percent and by 15
percent at peak hours, according to iGR.
At
the beginning of the year, South Korean mobile network operator KT
began the world’s first national LTE-Broadcast service, preceding a
series of trials by operators in the U.S and Europe.
The
most visible was a collaboration by the BBC, EE, Qualcomm, and Huawei
at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in July. Three events were streamed
simultaneously using eMBMS in MPEG-DASH and sent over IP to a Huawei
server situated within the EE test labs. Content was encapsulated
within multicast and transmitted on the 2.6GHz spectrum. Those
attending the showcase in Glasgow were be able to watch the footage
on their mobile devices via 4G broadcast.
EE
plans another stadium trial in Q1 2015 with 4K content with
commercial deployments earmarked for 2016, again beginning with
stadiums.
Stadiums
have been the focus of tests to date since they provide a
concentrated population of smartphone users whose network congestion
could be relieved by LTE-B. On top of that, telcos and rightsholders
spy opportunities to deliver in-stadia services such as live stream
feeds, replays, and statistics. Airports are other target venues
where people are most likely to stream the same content. While
unicast on-demand video will remain the main delivery model, LTE-B
promises useful capacity management.
Mike
Wright, group managing director of Australia’s Telstra, which
conducted its first LTE-B test at Melbourne Cricket Ground last
January, says that there are two main benefits. “One is about the
way we more efficiently design a network which is going to save us
costs, and then there is potential for new services and new revenue
streams. When you put the two together you have a business case.”
Telstra’s
test used 6GB of bandwidth to air three live streams, rather than 2GB
of bandwidth per channel for each connected user. Other applications
include broadcast to moving vehicles (connected cars), digital
signage, and emergency service broadcasts.
“There
will be a core range of applications for this tech, which will get it
started,” says Wright. “Once established in the network, it will
begin to grow on its own. We just need to get it started.”
Vodafone
partnered with Ericsson to test the tech during a soccer match at
Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany; KPN did the same at Ajax’s
Amsterdam Arena, as did Orange at Roland Garros and Poland’s
Polkomtel at Warsaw’s National Stadium.
In
the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, which tested at some at Indy car
races, are expected to deploy LTE Broadcast commercially sometime in
2015. At August’s Oppenheimer Technology, Internet &
Communications Conference in Boston, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo called
the advent of the technology “the pivotal point that starts to
change the way content is delivered over a mobile handset which opens
up content into the wireless world.”
In
July, Nokia and a consortia including German research body Institut
für Rundfunktechnik launched Europe’s first eMBMS trials for
national broadcasting. This trial in Munich was the first to apply
the technology on the UHF spectrum, using part of the 700MHz band to
broadcast over a 200 square-km area. 700MHz is the hotly contested
spectrum used by DTT in Europe.
“Our
approach is to learn if there is a new convergent system benefiting
TV and mobile for both linear and on-demand personalised video,”
says Klaus Illgner-Fehns, managing director, IRT. “Is there a
unified air interface which can serve millions of users at the same
time and provide business opportunities for both mobile and
broadcast?”
According
to Nokia, LTE-B promises new revenue sources for operators by
distributing TV over existing mobile broadband infrastructure.
Subscribers would be able to watch TV on their devices without eating
into their mobile data plan and independent of network load. It would
allow for a free-to-air or pay TV service while broadcasters and
content providers could extend their reach to mobile users and open
the door for a multitude of interactive services.
The
drive to LTE has not yet been as strong in the region as in North
America because Europe lacks a harmonised approach to technology
rollouts. However, Ericsson is among those that suggest the lag is
also the result of factors such as having well-developed 3G networks.
Devices
are another impediment to wide consumer adoption, although Qualcomm
has begun to introduce eMBMS support as standard issue in its
Snapdragon chipsets.
Speaking
on the topic at trade event IBC, Frank Hermans, Ericsson’s head of
TV and media sales, said, “We see the 2015-2019 time frame holding
significant revenue opportunities once you bring the ecosystem
partners together of content, stadia, mobile, and technology. There
is real money in LTE Broadcast. Innovation will only increase.”
Cellular
Opens New Markets
There
is a profound technology shift in electronic newsgathering (ENG)
underway as wireless technologies augment and in some cases supplant
satellite systems.
Claimed
as Europe’s first cellular newsgathering fleet (CNG), BT Sport
outfitted three vehicles with LiveU LU500 units and Xtender remote
antennas. Each LU500 backpack can be connected wirelessly (up to
1,000 metres) or via Ethernet to the Xtender that sits on top of each
vehicle.
“We
now have a fleet-footed and effective way of allowing sports
journalists to get the story back to us,” explains Andy Beale,
chief engineer with BT Sport.
News
agency ITN signed a multi-year contract with BT’s Media and
Broadcast division, to provide location news teams with wireless
transmission technology across London.
The
camera-mounted RF system called BT Media Live will allow ITN camera
crews to broadcast live or transfer footage wirelessly to its studios
from locations throughout the capital linked through BT Tower.
BT
also plans to cover other U.K. cities with hubs to service the RF
system. “There are so many news stories in our cities, but covering
them can be a logistical headache when you have to secure a
connection, find somewhere to park the truck, and book satellite
space. Add the costs of maintaining your own receive sites and the
challenge for broadcasters is clear,” says Mark Wilson-Dunn, vice
president of BT Media & Broadcast.
In
the U.S., Spanish-language broadcaster Noticias MundoFOX based its
entire ENG operation on LIVE+ 20/20 cellular-bonded transmitters from
Dejero. MundoFOX has deployed a transmitter at each of its bureaus in
Mexico City; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and NYC, with two LIVE+
servers installed in the network’s headquarters in LA. With feeds
coming into the servers from the transmitters, operators can access
the content and route it as required for playout to a live broadcast,
or archive it for use in a later production.
“Budget
is always a large consideration for a start-up news network,” says
Armando Acevedo, the network’s director of operations. “The
ability to cover live, breaking news from the source is a critical
differentiator but can also be a major expense area, especially if
the station has to maintain costly satellite vehicles.”
The
farther away from sports venues and metropolitan areas you go, the
more likely satcoms are to remain the first, and in many cases, only,
system guaranteed to work. You don’t have to stray into war zones
or disaster aftermaths, either; rural locales in Europe are
chronically underserved by reliable cellular connections.
Consequently,
a hybrid of new lighter-weight, portable Ka-band satellite terminals
and 3G/4G on-camera and backpack systems (which will also connect to
satellite) will be in most newsgatherers’ flyaway baggage.
“The
future of newsgathering will rely on hybrid multi-mode systems
providing live video over a multitude of communication
infrastructures,” says Ali Zarkesh, product development director at
Vislink. “While the use of cellular is increasing, if you base your
whole communications policy on it you have to bare in mind the
limitations.”
This
article appears in the 2015 Streaming
Media Europe Sourcebook as
"The State of Mobile Video."
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