LTE Diameter signalling to double mobile data growth rate

LTE Diameter signalling traffic will grow at more than twice the rate of mobile data traffic until 2017, according to software vendor Oracle.

The company predicts that worldwide LTE Diameter signaling traffic will increase at a 140 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from 1.2 million messages per second (MPS) in 2012 to nearly 99 million MPS by 2017.

The figures were published in the second annual Oracle Communications LTE Diameter Signaling Index. The Index bases its LTE Diameter signaling traffic numbers on LTE subscriber forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media’s WCIS, which forecasts nearly one billion LTE subscriptions by 2017.

According to Oracle, operators’ desire to offer more personalised mobile data services, such as shared data plans, mobile advertising and sponsored data usage, M2M services and content partnerships, will amplify the number and sophistication of network policies.

Oracle’s Index also predicts that North America will be the largest contributor to Diameter signaling traffic each year in the forecast period.  In 2017, the region is expected to reach nearly 43 million MPS. Meanwhile, EMEA and Latin America regions are expected to see growth rates surpassing 200 per cent per year through 2017. In the Asia Pacific region, the five mature markets of Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea are expected account for the majority of LTE Diameter signaling growth.

“Digital lifestyle services represent new ways for operators to engage and retain subscribers, expand partnerships with content and device providers and grow revenue and profitability,” commented Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Communications.

“Behind the scenes, the signaling that underpins these services will also naturally increase, as consumers benefit from the speed, efficiency and creativity of new LTE services.”

Dimitris Mavrakis, principal analyst, Informa Telecoms & Mediam added that LTE subscriber growth is the prerequisite to LTE Diameter signaling growth.

“While Oracle’s growth forecasts are impressive, we expect LTE Diameter traffic to maintain or even exceed such sharp increases beyond the forecast range,” he said.

He explained that the two reasons for this are the projected LTE subscriber additions in developing markets, particularly China and India, and the range of new services enabled by software-defined networking.

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