1) Improved efficiency of downlink data transmitted over the RF bandwidth - more revenue
2) Improved performance in geographic areas of reduced service coverage - fewer dropped calls
3) Improved performance in geographic areas of low signal strength - improved services
4) Improved performance in highly congested areas such as urban cities - fewer dropped calls
5) Reduction or elimination of handset wait time for data and video downloads - improved Quality of Experience (QoE)
6) No reduction in optical clarity to the handset user - improved QoE
Yes - HTTP2 and HTTPS traffic are compressed and then processed, and would also be re-encrypted with the certificates that are installed on the hand sets. ODEN-T also converts SSL/HTTP traffic to HTTP2 to enhance the load time of websites, even when the traffic cannot be compressed. The result is a better overall Quality of Experience (QoE). ODEN-T works with all cellular protocols and standards. ODEN-T does not intercept or modify UDP data. ODEN-T acts only as a proxy for compressing and improving the efficiency of the RF Spectrum for data passage.
Several real-world examples are the compression of a NASA JPEG from 742.2 kb to 113.2 kb, opening the NBC News web site in half the time (3 seconds versus 6 seconds), and access to the Hackaday.com web site in 4 seconds versus 10 seconds.
The following graph documents data points gathered during ODEN-T Beta tests.
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The following graph documents comparisons of ODEN-T compressed files to those without ODEN-T.
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ODEN-T is not an application on the smartphone, so the installation requirements for ODEN-T at the TELCO are minimal. ODEN-T is installed at the Network Operations Center (NOC) and hosted on a transparent proxy server or cloud-based server. Connectivity is provided via two ports, one routable to the internet and one to receive requests from the smartphone for routing to the ODEN-T proxy server. The ODEN-T proxy server receives the smartphone data request and routes these requests to the media provider via the internet. The requested data is sent back to the ODEN-T proxy server for compression and routed to the smartphone. Note that the data received from the ODEN-T server by the smartphone is ready for immediate viewing on receipt. An internal cache in the ODEN-T server will store any images, video, and CSS information in both the compressed and uncompressed state. IP metrics will be fed to the ODEN-T server and used to determine the outgoing and originating client IP address.
The typical ODEN-T Network Topology is illustrated below.
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The provisioning of the handset for operation with ODEN-T proxy server is simple and can be accomplished over the air, fram a web site link, at point of sale, or direct from the OEM. The specific requirements are as follows:
1) Install the ODEN-T server certificate on the handset
2) Install the handset certificate on the ODEN-T server
3) Configure the handset with the IP address of the ODEN-T server
Answer: "Today we performed tests in an area with poor 3G coverage (-100 dBm or worse). We saw that most of the times, while browsing and downloading videos, the phones with ODEN-T loaded the pages or the videos faster. Sometimes the phones without ODEN-T timed out because of the bad signal level. When we downloaded images, the phones with ODEN-T always downloaded the images faster."
Answer: "Yesterday we incorporated the verification of the data consumption of the phones by using our TELCO metrics tool to verify data available in the phone plan before and after the test. By doing this, we were able to validate what we were getting from the app Internet Speed Meter. We got very similar numbers with both methods, and were able to confirm the compression in the ODEN-T phones. We also did tests with the iPhone without any problems."
There are several variables on the decision to use a Cloud based solution versus a Local Server at the TELCO Network Operations Center. Given TIMMES pays upfront for either solution, CAPEX outlay is typically not a factor. Most significant for a Cloud based solution is their commercial coverage in the TELCO area and their associated latency. In most cases, TELCO elects to go with a local based server solution inside the TELCO security enclave. These decisions will be made by the TELCO with recommendations from TIMMES following a TIMMES site survey.
ODEN-T benefits all cellular protocols, but is most impactful on 3G and below networks, enabling these protocols to perform at higher levels and improving the Quality of Experience for the user.
ODEN-T does not just compress the traffic. It reduces the round trips to get the requested data, and there are additional enhancements to include nagle defiance, fair-robin access policy keeping phones in non-congested areas from receiving data in-lieu of the devices in congested areas at the expense of the congested area customers' experience, and traffic group shaping by heuristics.
ODEN-T also converts SSL / HTTP traffic to HTTP2 to enhance the load times of websites, even when the traffic cannot be compressed. The result is better overall Qualityof Experience. Additionally, the more customers that are using ODEN-T, the better the user experience for all users, including those who are not using ODEN-T.
The U.S. mobile phone industry is running out of the airwaves necessary to provide voice, text, and Internet services to its customers. This is also true of the global cellular market. The problem, known as the "Spectrum Crunch," threatens to increase the number of dropped calls, slow down data speeds and raise customer prices.
Spectrum Crunch
RF Spectrum costs billions of dollars to lease at auction
RF Spectrum for cellular providers is finite and limited
RF Spectrum usage is inefficient
Increasing demand for cellular data
Cellular congestion in high density urban areas
Insatiable thirst for e-mail, apps, and particularly video
Regions of reduced cellular signal strength restricts services
Long handset wait times
Dropped callls
Inability to access video and media content
A recent paper documents these changes - "Cisco Visual Networking Forecast Update," 2016 - 2021 White Paper, March 28, 2017
"Mobile data traffic has grown 18-fold over the past 5 years.
Global mobile data traffic grew 63 percent in 2016.
Almost half a billion (429 million) mobile device (mostly smartphones) connections were added in 2016.
Global mobile devices and connections in 2016 grew to 8.0 billion, up from 7.6 billion in 2015."
ODEN-T compresses the data being transmitted to the smartphone. This is download data where 6X more data is consumed versus upload. If more users can be serviced over the existing RF spectrum, it is an immediate revenue increase to the provider.
With the ODEN-T improvements to the performance of the smartphone, there is an increased level of data consumption drawing on data from sites that include Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Since ODEN-T is not an application on the smartphone, the installation requirements for ODEN-T at the TELCO are minimal. ODEN-T is installed at the Network Operations Center and hosted on a transparent proxy server or cloud-based server. Connectivity is provided via two ports, one routable to the internet an one to receive requests from the smartphone for routing to the ODEN-T proxy server. The ODEN-T proxy server receives the smartphone data request and routes these requests to the media provider via the internet. The requested data is sent back to the ODEN-T proxy server for compression and routing to the smartphone. Note that the data received from the ODEN-T server by the smartphone is ready for immediate viewing on receipt. An internal cache in the ODEN-T server will store any images, video, and CSS information in both the compressed and uncompressed state. IP metrics will be fed to the ODEN-T server and used to determine the outgoing and originating client IP address.
It may show the best performance improvements in these highly congested area, if properly managed and dynamically controlled. ODEN-T will return approximately 60% to the backhaul portion of the network availability. The TELCO will see an overall increase of network performance, network speed, network reliability and data network performance.
The provider will experience between 20% - 80% bandwidth reduction due to the compression of the data with an average of 40%. This variation is dependent upon the type of data being transmitted and received. The bandwidth reduction offers huge savings to the provider.
With the increase in RF efficiency and the service upgrade (i.e.: 2G to 3G or 4G) the TELCO can increase the monthly charge to customers and/or absorb the charge through their savings in bandwidth while still increasing profit.
ODEN-T does optimize the traffic flows and compress the traffic for Sling, HBO Now, Watch ESPN, and Fandango Now with a range of 35-40% depending on congestion times and the number of users sharing a tower. Non-supported platforms are still optimized, but no compressed. Optimization includes nagle defiance for heavy congestion, fair access polling, and acknowledgement of the pre-segmenting with dynamic adjustment based on RTT and associated with CWND.
Additionally, ODEN-T has achieved the following bandwidth savings for other key media providers.
Facebook = 49%
YouTube = 35%
Instagram = 35%
