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December 22, 2011

New Report says Nature of Network and Kind of Device Determines Web Experience

With the top two national carriers, AT&T and Verizon offering equivalent fourth-generation devices and services, Metrico Wireless evaluated the subscriber experience, analyzed the performance of such devices on certain key criteria and announced the findings in its report “LTE: The Subscriber Experience — Year One.”

As both U.S. national carriers released their devices for their LTE networks within months of each other, Metrico Wireless took the opportunity to evaluate subscriber experience in the early stages.

The press release describing the report’s findings details that both companies compared well when data and web performance were measured. However, when it came to quality of video and battery life, there appeared to be significant variation. Metrico analyazed why this was so.

Base findings were that devices from different manufacturers were increasingly becomng more uniform with regard to features and specifications. In addition, there was measurable improvment in web and data performance over the LTE network when compared to 3G networks — an indication that the nature of the network augured a different and better kind of web experience.

However, as the newest smartphones go beyond the borders of mere voice and simple text communication by embracing multimedia experiences, variations became noticeable. This appears to indicate that data speed alone doesn't always translate into a good web experience or a good video performance.

This is where the report found considerable variation between devices from different manufacturers. Battery life was determined by the nature of the device and the kind of display required for different applications and video performance was determined by onboard device attributes that included the video processor and rendering software. Metrico says this accounts for why subscriber’s video experience varied with devices.

The findings were further borne out by the fact that when different devices with similar specifications were connected to similar networks, there was a difference in performance and subscriber experience. In essence, the report stated that subscriber experience was not determined either by the network or by the device but by a combination of both factors. 

Given differences in performance based on network and device variations, consumers are going to need to be well educated in selecting which 4G LTE network best fits their needs based on what they would like to do and the device they prefer.

Earlier in December, Metrico Wireless announced the immediate availability of a pre-launch battery life testing service Fit4Launch methodology, which has certified over 600 devices and now includes battery performance. This enables operators and OEMs to predict impact on subscribers and potentially correct issues, avoiding the high cost of problem resolution after devices are released to the market for operators and OEMs.


Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for MobilityTechzone. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Peter Bernstein


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