The heaviest data, signaling, and battery users are the usual suspects, but a new crop of apps could become network foes if not kept in check.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

April 30, 2014

3 Min Read
Alcatel-Lucent Puts Apps on 3G 'Watch List'

The mobile applications driving the most data traffic and signaling on 3G networks are the ones you'd expect -- the most popular video and social media apps -- but those that could soon become culprits are not the usual suspects.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is putting these apps that have a high cost per user, defined as their average volume and signaling per user across sample networks, on a "watch list" because an increase in popularity could send them into the "naughty" quadrant of high-impact apps. Those apps include Tango, Nimbuzz, Palringo, Office 365, Zynga, Netflix, Pandora, Pinterest, Facebook Channel, Kik, and Skype.

Alcatel-Lucent says the way these apps are designed and used creates a heavy load on the network, device batteries, and data plans. Pandora, for example, has only a 1% share of subscribers, but is among the top 20 apps in terms of network impact.

These are apps that wireless operators will want to keep an eye on, but there's a number of apps that are already causing them heartburn. Alcatel-Lucent's name-and-shame awards go to:

  • Highest network impact on bandwidth and signaling (how often the app pings the network to receive data): Google Search, Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and YouTube

  • Highest data volume impact: iTunes, Instagram, Pinterest, Apple Maps and Pandora

  • Top battery drainers: Nimbuzz, Yahoo Messenger, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook Messenger, Kik, Viber, and Palringo

  • Top data plan guzzlers: YouTube, Netflix, Facebook Video, Pandora, and Instagram Video

Figure 1: Apps Behaving Badly AlcaLu maps out the network impact of the top 39 apps based on the amount of volume they drive and their signaling chatter on the network. AlcaLu maps out the network impact of the top 39 apps based on the amount of volume they drive and their signaling chatter on the network.

This is the first time Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a study of this size using data collected from its Wireless Network Guardian software that measure signaling and data volume impact from apps used by 15 million subscribers on 3G networks in North America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

It did also look at LTE networks, but Josee Loudiadis, AlcaLu's director of network intelligence, says the network data varied so much that no averages could be found. She attributes the wide differences to how far along LTE rollouts were, how 4G was priced, and cultural variances. In general, however, the trends tend to mirror the 3G networks but with more of everything, especially signaling. (See MW13: Tekelec Warns of VoLTE Signaling Storm and LTE Signaling Woes Ahead?)

It's easy to see why network operators should care about these apps: They affect their networks and their customers' experiences (and they'll probably take the blame). But what they can do about it? Loudiadis suggests a few things:

  • Plead with apps developers to reduce signaling in their app updates, that is, if they can get them to care. (See Operators Urge Action Against Chatty Apps.)

  • Optimize traffic during peak hours.

  • Track apps and degrade their performance when they exceed typical volume levels.

  • Integrate analytics with customer care to help resolve data usage and low battery life call.

  • Find the low-impact apps and strike a zero-rating deal to optimize and promote them free to users, waters into which some operators such as AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) are just starting to dip a toe. (See AT&T Toll-Free Data: Innovation or Rip-Off?)

"Zynga, for example, is a low-impact app," Loudiadis says. "Its per-subscriber cost is still high on the data side, so why not connect with Zynga and package them with a data plan? Why don't I say, 'give me a low-res version of your file to have less data traveling. You can change the resolution on the screen depending on the device screen size, and do things to help reduce of impact of the app."

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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