Most data traffic limited to three cells per user Deutsche Telekom CTO reveals

Truly mobile usage is a for the most part a myth, according to the CTO of Deutsche Telekom. Speaking in his keynote address at the Broadband World Forum on Wednesday, Olivier Baujard said that according to Deutsche Telekom’s data analysis, 80 per cent of traffic for a typical customer is generated from just three cells.

“One is home, one is work or university and one other. The maximum is four cells, depending on class of customer”, Baujard said. The data further showed that only ten per cent of data use is truly mobile.

He also noted the impact of larger screened devices such as tablets on wireless data access. “Usage has shifted. The sessions are longer.” Noting the convergence of mobile and fixed Baujard said that, “20 per cent of customers generate 80 per cent of traffic – because they are using the mobile device like a fixed device.”

Following his keynote Baujard shared a panel session with Sean Williams, head of group strategy for UK incumbent BT, who said that the expectation from some that fibre would soon dominate was unrealistic, and echoed earlier comments from Alcatel-Lucent’s Philippe Keryer that there was much life left in copper connections.

“The copper network will be used in its entirety for long period of time,” Williams said. “We have to recognise reality that we are moving at the pace of our customers and there is a lot that can be done with copper. Our business case is predicated on getting 20 per cent of our copper customers onto fibre but I think it’s completely naive to expect to get everyone on fibre – not for a generation.”