Featuring representatives from major carriers, CDNs and content players, the panel focussed on how networks can sustain the huge demand for mobile broadband in the region.
Consumers in the region are increasingly turning to smartphones as their primary device for services such as video on demand, causing a real challenge for operators and content players alike.
“We are seeing that mobile will be the first and only internet device. It affects how we plan. We have a mobile first strategy that asks: what is the experience if it is only mobile?” said Google's head of Android and Chrome channel partners for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Bambos Kaisharis.
The panel discussed a range of ways telecoms and content players could collaborate to deliver a higher quality of service. One suggestion was to offload traffic onto public Wifi hotspots.
“The next step could be Wifi offloading like we have in Hong Kong, with seamless handover between LTE, 3G and Wifi,” said Mike van der Bergh, CMO at PCCW Global. “You will need critical mass, however, and will also need to standardise the technology and architecture being used.”
Dr. Ricky Chau, VP of Asia-Pacific, Level 3 Communications, called for greater cooperation across the telecoms ecosystem in the region. “From content owners to CDN providers, network operators and mobile operators, we need to collaborate for the delivery of high-quality video content,” he said.
The panel was moderated by Bob Fletcher, director of business development at Dyn, and also included Michael Wheeler, EVP of global IP network at NTT Communications, and Jerry Chung, regional head of Southeast Asia for CDNetwork Group.
