What was once just a concept included in every Sci-Fi movie of the last century is now becoming a commonplace communications tool in the home and the enterprise, i.e., video. Consumers are increasingly using video for a number of different purposes both for real-time interactions and streamed. Service providers are searching for ways to not only focus on the consumer for all of their video needs, but also take the quality of experience (QoE) for all types of video to the next level to meet or exceed user expectations.
A recent Alcatel-Lucent (
News 
-
Alert) white paper,
Enliven Conversations with Video, explored this topic, evaluating the best ways to discern the subtleties and nuances experienced in face-to-face conversations when using video communications. The focus for a number of service providers is to
enliven conversations with high quality video, ensuring these experiences stand out from the rest and that the service stands out from the competition.
The increase in application and content provider (ACP) video chat services demonstrates the growing popularity and demand for interactive real-time video communications. These services are not limited to the WiFi or fixed networks. 4G LTE (
News -
Alert) networks continue to emerge in the mobile space to provide the speed and performance necessary to support this demand. This is creating new market opportunities.
In fact, according to a Gartner (
News 
-
Alert) Dataquest report, almost 40 percent of Internet users have already tried video calling. Another 18 percent spend more than one hour per week making video calls. To leverage the opportunities emerging from this growth, ACPs are ready to move their video chat services to 4G LTE networks. Likewise, the time is right for service providers to implement this service.
As the adoption for video communications grows, so does the demand for quality interactions. Fortunately, Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms are already firmly in place with 4G LTE networks. Low latency, high bandwidth and prioritized packet delivery are already a priority focus to ensure the video experience is optimized for all users.
At the same time, device-level support for video is high and still increasing. Likewise, there is a growing mesh of smartphones, digital signage systems, computers, kiosks, surveillance systems, gaming platforms, TVs and more that are creating the opportunity for video communications. The proliferation of devices is contributing to the growth of 4G LTE networks to support mobile video communications.
Service providers now have the opportunity to redefine the video communications experience, improving on the ACP video chat service through the creation of more types of calls and building a global calling community while also simplifying the service.
When the service provider’s video service gets
applications enablement through solutions like
Alcatel-Lucent’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), the offered video service is delivered in such a way that it naturally fits into the life of the subscriber. This includes allowing the user to share what they see with a friend through one-way video calling, videocasting, visual conference calls and the addition of video to audio and texting messaging.
Alcatel-Lucent’s
4G Consumer Communications Solution offers support for video, voice and messaging across networks such as 3G HSPA+, 4G LTE (
News -
Alert), fixed, WiFi and even the Internet. Given the astounding growth of smartphones and tablets, and the ability of 4G LTE networks with IMS to provide enhanced and differentiated quality experiences, service providers are able to deliver advanced communications services based on advanced technologies that enable the pioneering of the new mobile conversation.
Edited by
Peter Bernstein