U.S. cablecos could tap US$4.5 billion of revenue and cost savings by using carrier-grade WiFi to compete more directly with mobile operators.
According to WiFi quality-of-experience (QoE) provider XCellAir, cable providers are too dependent on costly wholesale agreements with mobile operators to reach beyond their customers’ front doors. Furthermore, outdoor public WiFi is perceived by customers as unreliable.
XCellAir claimed that by rolling out a carrier-grade WiFi experience, cablecos can attract new customers, retain existing ones, and roll out new services like mobile video, resulting in $675 million of additional revenue. They could also collectively save $3.8 billion by reducing their reliance on wholesale mobile network deals.
" ;Our analysis shows cost savings make up most of the $4.5 billion opportunity, but this is in fact an added bonus rather than a real benefit," said Narayan Menon, founder and CTO of XCellAir, in a statement on Tuesday. "The real value will be the retention, new customers, and increased ARPU from an out-of-home service that can go toe-to-toe against cellular networks."
Indeed, XCellAir said that managed and optimised WiFi networks that "reach the brink of cellular quality" will enable cable companies to maintain customer connectivity to high-bandwidth services outside the home, providing a platform for the cableco to monetise its WiFi investment.
Unsurprisingly, XCellAir offers solutions designed to help comms providers offer carrier-grade WiFi. Its cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) enables a service provider to monitor interference and spectrum utilisation across its WiFi footprint and automatically make the adjustments required to optimise performance.
In September, the company claimed that more efficient use of WiFi spectrum and smarter interference management could yield a $17.9 billion windfall for the world’s mobile operators.
