BARCELONA, Spain -- Mobileum, a provider of roaming and analytics services, launched a beta version of an automated video experience testing product at the Mobile World Congress, here.
In a statement, the company said the automated service expands its existing test factory suite into a key area of growth for the industry, pointing to predictions that video is set to account for 70 per cent of mobile data traffic by 2021.
Pablo Maffei, EVP of Mobileum's test factory, said the new video testing tool will enable operators to match consumers' expectations of a smooth video streaming experience. "To prevent frustrated customers switching providers for better service, mobile operators need better visibility and understanding of their network performance," he said.
The company is also using MWC16 to demonstrate a recently launched app that it said opens the door for operators to boost roaming revenues.
Mobileum's Rovng app is a white label proposition for operators that offers the ability to brand and market services from third party providers as well as themselves to travellers. The app utilises leverages Mobileum's existing roaming solutions to analyse data from the lifecycle of a traveller's journey, before, during, and after travel, and offers contextual content to the roaming subscriber compiled from an ecosystem of travel service providers.
Avnish Chauhan, CTO and EVP of Mobileum's travel business, told FierceWireless:Europe that mobile operators often don't know their subscribers are travelling until the turn on their phones in the arrivals lounge.
"While operators today generate revenues from traditional mobile voice and data roaming services, their share of the global travel pie only accounts for 2 per cent of travel spend in comparison to big-ticket items such as flights. Yet the mobile operator is the only company [in the travel process] that actually knows where you are.
Chauhan explained that by providing the ability to predict travel patterns "you're able to insert the mobile operator into the centre of the travel process."
He noted that while mobile roaming is estimated by various sources to be a $50 billion (€45.4 billion) to $55 billion market, travel is a $1.5 trillion market. "That is a good chunk of money that mobile operators don't see today, and now they have the opportunity to play in that space," he explained.
For more:
- see Mobileum's Rovng announcement
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