Broadband wireless advisory group Wireless 20/20 has unveiled the latest version of its WiROI Tool, which now provides mobile network operators MNOs) with a new way to analyze the economic impact of offloading 3G/4G data to Wi-Fi.
Wireless 20/20 developed the WiROI 4G WiFi Offloading Business Case Analysis Tool as part of its latest study and business case analysis, which concluded that deploying Wi-Fi offload networks could substantially mitigate 3G/4G traffic congestion in high-traffic areas.
By adding the capability to analyze the tradeoffs of deploying a Wi-Fi offload network compared to deploying primary network hardware, Wireless 20/20 says the new WiROI Tool enables MNOs to analyze the conditions where Wi-Fi deployment can help the most, determine the investment required, and optimize the configuration of the Wi-Fi offload network to maximize ROI.
The WiROI Tool is designed to model all of the technical, financial and commercial parameters for an operator’s 3G and 4G network deployment. By modeling all capxx, opex and revenues for a 3G/4G network, the tool outputs a complete, 10-year income statement. The addition of the Wi-Fi offload module enables the analysis of the total cost of ownership (TCO) tradeoff between deploying a W-iFi offload network and adding additional capacity into the 3G and 4G network. The new version of the WiROI Tool also allows operators to pinpoint the optimal Wi-Fi coverage and access-point density that will maximize the return for an operator.
Heavy Reading market research and analysis has demonstrated that public hotspots, home and office-based Wi-Fi networks already carry a substantial portion of a subscriber’s daily smartphone traffic. These estimates suggest that between 20 and percent of smartphone-user traffic is already being offloaded using these Wi-Fi connections.
"There has been much talk in the industry about the need for W-iFi offloading to help deal with the exponential growth in demand for mobile broadband data," said Berge Ayvazian, senior analyst at Heavy Reading. "Up until now, there has not been an effective way of truly understanding when Wi-Fi makes sense and what the economic return could be. Wireless 20/20 has created another very unique business case analysis tool that can be customized for any mobile network operator to help them answer these questions."
Wireless 20/20’s latest study analyzed the impact of deploying Wi-Fi offloading from a 4G LTE network in New York City. The study concluded that deploying a Wi-Fi offload network in NYC will significantly reduce the burden of data traffic carried by the 4G LTE network and results in 7.2 percent reduction in the TCO over the 10-year period.
According to the study, the business case for Wi-Fi offload is highly dependent on Wi-Fi site rental and backhaul costs. When these costs exceed $100-$150 per month, the business case becomes challenging. When these costs are less than $40 per month, Wi-Fi offload becomes a highly attractive solution.
