Resolve Cellular Network Congestion Issues Easily with Channel Bonding Technology
Congestion shows up as a bad customer experience long before it shows up as a capacity problem. The cell is fine on average and unusable at 7pm, and the subscriber blames the network either way.
Speedify is software that spreads each subscriber’s traffic across more than one connection, which takes load off the congested cell without new spectrum. That needs a second connection for the subscriber, such as Wi-Fi; on a single connection Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot relieve the congested cell.
With Speedify, your internet stays on when one connection fails.
You will see what cellular congestion actually is, how fast mobile data traffic is growing, and what operators, MVNOs and mobile data providers can do about it.
Watch now
How Speedify combines internet connections on any hardware
Get started with Speedify for your business
Speedify offers three commercial paths. They work together, and most enterprise customers use two or more.
01
Speedify Teams
Speedify on every supported OS for every team member
Centralized dashboard for billing, user provisioning, and usage analytics
CSV import/export and a RESTful management API
02
Speedify for Routers
License for supported OpenWrt routers
Powered by Speedify hardware lineup ready to deploy out of the box
Miri, GL.iNet and other partner models
Covers every device on the network, with no per-device install
03
Embed Speedify into your product
A · DIY
Build it yourself with the Speedify SDK.
Integrate Speedify into your iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux or QNX product. Full developer documentation, sample code and supported integration paths. Your team owns the build, and the Speedify SDK handles combining the internet connections.
B · CUSTOM ENGINEERING
Have the Speedify team build it for you.
Cellular Network Congestion Explained
Cellular congestion occurs when too many devices are attempting to use a cellular network in a specific area, overwhelming the network’s capacity. This can lead to slower data speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity.
Congestion peaks at predictable times and places, such as evenings in residential areas, stadiums and transit hubs. Subscribers see it as slow data and failed calls even with full signal bars, because the signal is fine and the cell’s capacity is used up.
Cellular congestion is one type of network congestion. Think of it as rush hour on a mobile network: more users than the cell tower can serve at once.
Mobile Data Traffic Is on the Rise
Mobile data traffic is on an exponential rise, with a predicted tripling in the following years, according to Statista: “In 2022, the average data used per smartphone per month worldwide amounted to 15 GB. The source forecasts that this will increase to around 46 GB per smartphone per month globally in 2028”. Ericsson’s June 2024 Mobility Report has a similar figure when it comes to mobile data traffic per smartphone. But when looking at total mobile network traffic, they forecast a CAGR of 23% between 2023 and 2029, reaching an impressive 466 EB (exabyte)/month.
The main drivers for this growth are the rapid deployment of 5G networks globally and the rising consumption of video streaming services, social media and other real-time communication applications. The numbers differ from region to region, but the trend is the same, and more traffic on the same cells means more congestion.
Mobile Network Operators, MVNOs and Professional Mobile Data Network Providers Have These Problems
When the network infrastructure that businesses depend on is not keeping up with the demand, this directly impacts customer satisfaction. The instantaneous movement of high bandwidth data over these networks is vital to many businesses. Impacts arise from poor/legacy coverage in rural areas, infrastructure faults, congested or slow networks and devices latching onto poor unmanaged Wi-Fi. A modern and adaptable network service is the bread and butter when it comes to providing a fast and reliable service.
Another major factor that can generate hassles is the cost of cellular services. MVNOs see this first hand. As they’re not using their own cellular infrastructure, the cost of traffic on the mobile network can make it hard to compete. Even if there is a Wi-Fi network infrastructure available, they will certainly not get the long distance coverage cellular data has.
Online traffic security matters too. Most companies now use VPNs for their remote workers, as they are aware of the dangers that reside with both public Wi-Fi and cellular data traffic. As stated in the 2024 GSMA security threat landscape report, implemented security defenses include a secure by design architecture and multi-layered defenses, where the usage of VPN encryption can help organizations.
These are even more important when your main market is a competitive one, such as North America, most of Europe and Asia. Your existing clients and potential ones will just choose the best available alternative.
How to Fix Network Congestion
ISPs and network carriers can use a range of solutions to fix network congestion, including:
- combining multiple wireless networks: use both cellular and Wi-Fi infrastructure available so users get fast and reliable internet connectivity;
- expanding network capacity: increase the number of cell towers and base stations;
- deploying small cells: utilizing small cell technology to improve coverage in dense urban areas;
- upgrading network equipment: modernize network infrastructure with advanced technologies;
- traffic shaping and prioritization: prioritize critical services like voice calls and emergency services during peak times;
- load balancing: distribute traffic across multiple cell towers and base stations to reduce congestion;
- congestion control algorithms: detect and mitigate congestion based on specific algorithms.
Apart from these, they can also engage in spectrum management and user education and awareness.
Data throttling is one technique widely used in North America: it slows down specific types of traffic, usually streaming and gaming, to fit more users onto the same capacity.
Limiting bandwidth or charging heavily for extra mobile data does not make customers happier while they still sit through cellular network congestion. A better answer is to give each subscriber more capacity by combining the connections a device or home already has.
How Speedify Reduces Cellular Network Congestion
Mobile network operators and providers of professional mobile data services are looking for new revenue. Security-as-a-service or specialized content channels on their own tend to see slow adoption. Connectivity and security services that improve every connection a customer makes are easier to sell, and Speedify gives service providers features they can offer right away while lowering service costs.
Speedify offers service providers three building blocks:
- A white labeled carrier-grade mobile application, ideal for creating a customer facing value-added subscription service.
- An SDK for including in-home CPE (customer premises equipment) to provide standard Hybrid Access Gateway functions and ensure a 4G/5G cellular failover path for fixed line customers.
- An offload and traffic routing service which can lower the operational cost of a mobile service provider whilst increasing the value of analytics and other value added services deployed in the network.
All of this runs on Speedify’s encrypted VPN service for combining internet connections, so customers get security that holds up through network interruptions and handovers. Using more than one network at a time avoids performance problems at the network edge and improves reliability, which is how Speedify helps minimize cellular network congestion.
Speedify Is Used on Millions of Devices Worldwide
Speedify has made internet connections faster and more reliable for businesses and individuals since 2014.
15M+
Speedify downloads worldwide75K+
5-star reviews for Speedify on iOS and Android82
Speedify server points of presence in 50+ cities on 6 continents500TB+
Of internet traffic carried by Speedify every weekSpeedify Partners
Speedify works with these companies to bring faster, more reliable internet and networking technology to their customers and employees.
Why Speedify Should Be on Your Radar when Dealing with Cellular Network Congestion
As explained above, the main benefit for mobile network operators, MVNOs and professional mobile data service providers is lower operational cost alongside higher service value. Speedify’s SDK partners include organizations like Xfinity, CUJO AI, OmniAccess, Cox and Comcast.
The table below explains how Speedify can help with connectivity and security hassles:
|
Service |
Customer Proposition |
Speedify Value |
|
Hybrid Access CPE |
Combine fixed and mobile services at the home to satisfy targeted quality, busy hour speed and uptime. |
Intelligently adds the mobile network to supplement the fixed line in the most efficient way, only using the mobile network when the fixed line performance is below acceptable limits. |
|
Increase customer insights |
Bring data back to the mobile core, even when the device is on another network, to gain the benefit of increased analytics |
As the VPN improves performance with little battery impact, customers are more likely to keep it active, and data which would otherwise be off your network is brought back to the core to benefit from your services and analytics |
|
Increase value of other core services |
Family filters, Media services, etc are applied more of the time as the device is connected to your core network more of the time |
|
|
Mobile Data Offload |
Use public Wi-Fi securely and safely with the added peace of mind that a minimum service quality will be provided regardless of the Wi-Fi quality |
Intelligently move only the traffic which can be supported by the Wi-Fi network (if any), combine Wi-Fi and cellular to provide a minimum performance and optionally bring all the data back to the mobile core |
|
Protect congested networks |
Use alternative networks when one is congested, without the user noticing |
Intelligently decide whether to combine networks for increased speed or replicate data for optimal performance and reliability |
|
Wi-Fi Data Offloading |
Use mobile data network securely and safely with the added peace of mind that a minimum service quality will be provided regardless of the cellular coverage |
Intelligently move only the traffic which can be supported by the mobile data network, combine Wi-Fi and cellular to provide a minimum performance and optionally bring all the data back to the mobile core. |
Contact the Speedify team to see how Speedify can take load off congested cells in your network.
Speedify Business Solutions
Speedify Teams
Speedify for Routers
Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations
Add Speedify to your own app or hardware with the Speedify SDK. Your product then combines internet connections, fails over automatically when one drops, and encrypts the traffic, using the same technology as the Speedify app.