Communications test, monitoring and analytics expert EXFO on Dec. 3 launched its Nova Active over-the-top (OTT) video monitoring platform, allowing service providers to automatically detect and diagnose the root cause of video streaming problems as soon as they begin, and identify their origin -- whether inside or outside of their networks. This capability is critical, as video exceeds 65% of today’s network traffic, and will rise to over 90% in 5G networks by 2024, estimates the company.
As further contended by EXFO:
OTT video streaming issues are the number one source of network-related customer churn, a multimillion dollar problem for operators. In addition, consumers blame their video quality of experience (QoE) issues primarily on service providers, even though approximately half of all video quality issues originate outside of their networks and their control.
As a result, service providers have high volumes of churn and are unable to effectively monetize OTT video services and leverage QoE as an essential differentiator. In turn, revenue losses and higher customer acquisition costs increase as the provider’s reputation suffers—even if the issues stem from a customer device, a poor home WiFi network or a content provider’s data center issue.
EXFO says its Nova Active OTT video monitoring solution "now gives mobile network operators, internet service providers and content delivery providers the means to detect, segment, classify and diagnose the root cause of video streaming problems as soon as they begin." With the Nova Active system, the company adds that, for the first time, service providers will be able to pinpoint whether problems such as freezing, buffering or lagging come from their network, the video platform, the user’s device, or a video provider like YouTube or Netflix.
“As we all increasingly rely on video streaming for working, learning and socializing, the quality of over-the-top video services has never been more important. But until now, service providers did not have access to technology allowing them to quickly identify and solve video streaming problems, whether on mobile devices, at work or at home,” said Abdelkrim Benamar, EXFO’s Vice President of Service Assurance, Systems and Services. “EXFO’s unique solution will give service providers the ability to quickly pinpoint the source of these problems, resolve video quality issues for users and capture the growing opportunity that video represents.”
The Nova Active OTT video monitoring capability is an integral part of the EXFO Nova Active monitoring solution and the Nova Adaptive Service Assurance platform. Using a patent-pending approach that measures video streaming experience without compromising user privacy, operators can precisely identify, classify and localize issues as they occur. Significantly, the company notes new platform avoids big data analytics and decryption delays, allowing operations teams to prioritize and take immediate action.
“Legacy video monitoring solutions are generally expensive, compute-intensive and tailored to content delivery applications. The industry needs real-time video monitoring that helps service providers overcome network issues, where the majority of issues originate,” said Gorkem Yigit, Lead analyst for the Cloud Infrastructure Strategies and Media Platforms research programs, Analysys Mason. “EXFO’s approach is designed to address this with an innovative approach that provides visibility into video quality, network performance and how they relate, so providers can optimize user experience with what’s within their control.”
Key benefits of the Nova Active OTT platform as highlighed by EXFO include: