Hybrid Access Improves Quality of Service and Reduces Costs for Network Operators
As markets, customers, and smartphones continue to multiply, Network Operators and MVNOs are facing critical bandwidth issues. In the face of soaring costs and overloaded cellular networks, Carriers have been working for years to develop hybrid access technologies to offload this increased traffic to broadband or DSL and leverage existing investments in infrastructure to no avail.
Speedify is link aggregation technology that is easy to implement: it helps network operators and hardware manufacturers enable hybrid access connection aggregation, using fixed broadband and cellular at the same time and moving traffic between them without dropping the session, which improves QoE while reducing LTE usage. That needs both connections in place; on a single connection Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop that connection from dropping.
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How Speedify combines internet connections on any hardware
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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
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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.
Hybrid Access Explained: Fixed Broadband and Cellular as One Connection
Hybrid access combines a subscriber’s fixed broadband line (DSL, cable or fiber) with a cellular connection so the two work as one faster connection. The fixed line carries traffic first; cellular adds capacity when the line is full and keeps the subscriber online when the line fails. Vendors also sell the idea as hybrid internet or blended bandwidth. For the operator, it means faster service over copper it already owns and better use of spare cellular capacity. It works on a similar idea to mobile data offloading to Wi-Fi, run in the other direction.
Hybrid access has usually needed new hardware: a hybrid gateway at the subscriber’s home and an aggregation gateway in the operator’s network. The main obstacles are:
- Rolling out hybrid gateways means replacing customer premises equipment (CPE) in every home
- Manually switching between networks is time consuming and cumbersome
- Consumers end up with interrupted internet access during network changeovers
Speedify addresses all of these with its technology for combining internet connections.
Speedify Is an All-in-one Hybrid Access Solution
For operators, the benefits of hybrid access through Speedify are twofold: subscribers get a faster, steadier connection than the copper line alone can give, and the operator gets more out of fixed and cellular networks it has already paid for.
Speedify handles combining internet connections and Hybrid Access on mobile devices and laptop/desktop computers. It can be built into existing iOS, Android, Windows and macOS software and runs in the background monitoring and improving network performance for all the apps on the device. Speedify is cost aware and uses policy based routing that can be configured for increased speed or reduced cellular usage. Optional VPN encryption means that Speedify can also keep users secure across public Wi-Fi networks.
When a DSL line drops or slows, a subscriber on that single line has nothing to fall back on. With Speedify using the fixed line and cellular together, traffic continues over cellular on the same session and moves back to the fixed line when it recovers.
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.
Learn How Speedify can solve Hybrid Access for your Business
Contact the Speedify team today to schedule a demo or learn more about Speedify enterprise offerings.
Hybrid Access Networks: How an ISP Uses Copper and Cellular Together
An ISP with a copper footprint and a cellular network has two ways to reach a customer and, usually, no way to use both at once. Hybrid access is the architecture that changes that, and it has historically needed gateway hardware at both ends.
Speedify does this in software, without that gateway hardware, which lets an ISP offer a faster, steadier service over the lines it already has.
Take a look at what hybrid access networks are, the forms they take, and how a software approach compares. If you run a regional network, see how rural ISPs use hybrid access.
Examples of Hybrid Networks: Home, Enterprise, Campus and Cloud
Here are some examples of hybrid networks:
- Home Networks: A typical home network often combines Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections. Devices like laptops and smartphones connect wirelessly to a Wi-Fi router, while desktop computers and gaming consoles are often connected to the router via Ethernet cables.
- Enterprise Networks often combine wired and wireless networks to provide flexible connectivity for employees.
- Wired networks are used for critical infrastructure and servers, while Wi-Fi networks are used for employee devices like laptops and mobile phones.
- Some enterprises also use cellular networks for remote workers and mobile devices.
- Campus Networks such as those found in universities and corporate campuses, often combine wired and wireless networks. Wired networks are used for high-bandwidth applications like research and data transfer, while Wi-Fi networks are used for student and faculty devices.
- Hybrid Cloud Networks combine public and private cloud infrastructure. This allows organizations to leverage the benefits of both public cloud flexibility and private cloud security.
Main Types of Access Networks Used by ISPs and Carriers
An access network is a type of network which physically connects an end system to the immediate router (also known as the “edge router”) on a path from the end system to any other distant end system.
The main types of access networks used by ISPs and network carriers are:
- Wired access networks:
- DSL (Digital Subscriber Line),
- Cable Internet,
- Fiber-optic (FTTH),
- Hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC).
- Wireless access networks:
- Wi-Fi,
- Cellular networks (4G, 5G),
- Satellite.
Hybrid Access Points and CPE Used as Access Points
A hybrid access point is a network device that combines both wired and wireless network technologies.
- Unified Network: A hybrid access point simplifies network management by providing a single point of access for both wired and wireless devices.
- Improved Connectivity: It connects every device, regardless of its connection type.
- Enhanced Flexibility: Hybrid access points can be deployed in various scenarios, from small home networks to large enterprise environments.
CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) can be used as access points too.
A CPE device is typically a network device that connects a user’s premises to a service provider’s network. Many CPE devices, such as cable modems, DSL modems, and routers, have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing them to function as access points.
Mobile Data Traffic Keeps on Growing
Mobile data traffic keeps rising fast, 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 for mobile data traffic per smartphone. For total mobile network traffic, Ericsson forecasts a CAGR of 23% between 2023 and 2029, reaching 466 EB (exabytes) a 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 overall trends are the same.
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.