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Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Labs

Understanding Smartphone
Behavior in the Network

White Paper
1.  Smart Lab Introduction
The massive takeup of smartphones It is for this precise purpose that Nokia
Contents that has occurred since 2007 has been Siemens Networks has established
a boon for the telecommunications multiple Smart Labs worldwide. The
1. Smart Lab Introduction 02
industry. The services, applications, labs in Dallas, US, Espoo, Finland, and
2. Background 03 and connectivity that the industry most recently opened in Seoul, Korea,
provides is something that consumers help find the ideal configurations of
2.1 Smartphone success 03
talk, blog, and tweet about with mobile handsets, applications and
2.2 The smartphone challenge 04 passion. networks to minimize negative network
impact from smart devices, improve
3. Fast Dormancy and its 05
However, this boom in smartphones resource consumption as well as better
consequences has ended up posing a challenge to handset and application performance,
3.1 Nokia Siemens Networks 06 network operators. Because the first and to ultimately provide the best
and Cell_PCH major use of high-speed data was possible user experience.
laptops with dongles gulping down
3.2 Network Controlled Fast 07
gigabytes of P2P applications and Ultimately, it is only when all of the
Dormancy streamed video, operators worldwide players in the value chain understand
4. The smartphone industry 08 focused on efficient delivery of data the effect that they have on all of the
addresses the issue capacity as their top priority. But other players will we be able to develop
smartphones are different. The the ideal win-win-win-win scenario
4.1 Nokia 08
average smartphone consumes only among network operators, handset
4.2 Qualcomm 08 10% of the data traffic that a laptop vendors, application developers, and
does, but smartphones, largely driven consumers. Through its research,
4.3 Apple 08
by the applications that consumers Nokia Siemens Networks Smart
5. What’s next in smartphone 09 love, can connect to the network in Labs are deepening and sharing this
management – the Nokia the background hundreds or even understanding of how we all work best
thousands of times daily, pushing together, so that getting to a fully
Siemens Networks solution
signaling traffic higher than network smartphone-friendly ecosystem isn’t
6. Nokia Siemens Networks 09 planners ever imagined. just the result of trial and error, but is
Smart Labs based on a industry-wide knowledge of
Today’s data network focus is therefore the issues and their effects on all the
7. Recommendations for the 11
widening to include not just data- players.
mobile industry hungry laptops, but connection-hungry
7.1 
Application Developers and 11 smartphones as well. The task before
Device Manufacturers us all as an industry is to understand
how handsets, their batteries,
7.2 Operators 11
networks, and applications work
8. Conclusion 12 together, to determine the proper
performance balance for each so that
both end user experience and network
efficiency can be optimized.

2 Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper


2. Background
2.1  Smartphone success applications that are always connected forth messages or status updates.
to the network in order to stay in touch Instant messaging services, such
Until relatively recently, the mobile with friends via instant messaging, as Yahoo IM and Skype, and other
broadband industry was focusing on Facebook, MySpace, Skype, Twitter, popular services, such as Facebook
providing laptop and dongle users with and other universally popular or various friend tracker applications,
enough data capacity. But the arrival of applications. are just some of the examples – and
the iPhone, Android and also other if someone is “connected” it’s not
smart devices has ushered in a A current trend for internet social uncommon for him or her to be logged
brand new world of data usage: now networking websites such as MySpace into multiple social networking
mobile device users are able to use and Facebook is to turn mobile. applications simultaneously.
Facebook, for example, has more than
500 million active users and more than Online networked gaming is also
200 million are currently accessing moving to mobile platforms. Most
Facebook through their mobile smartphones have a screen that is
devices. According to Facebook, large enough and a processor that is
people that access the site on their powerful enough to run online games,
mobile devices are twice as active on the same games people are already
Facebook as non-mobile users. playing in the internet. Mobile online
gaming communities are getting bigger
Some of the most popular smartphone and bigger and they already lure
applications are also some of the millions of people on a daily basis.
greatest generators of signaling traffic. Zynga, for example, which provides
Social networking applications, in networked games such as Farmville
which friends stay connected with each and Mafia Wars to Facebook, has
other for extended periods of time, attracted 21 million gamers so far, or a
inherently involve frequent back and full 10% of the entire world internet

Smart Lab Test Result: The story is different when we look The implications of the test are clear.
Mobile Networked Gaming at the signaling traffic. The laptop As interaction-heavy applications such
generated 188 signaling messages as online gaming gain in popularity,
during the half hour, while the operators with significant numbers of
We tested a popular online multiplayer
smartphone generated more than smartphone customers must prepare
poker game and measured the data
10 times that amount, at a staggering for further increases in their signaling
and mobile network signaling traffic
1996 signals during the half hour. This traffic and dimension their networks
generated by playing the game for
is 66 signals per minute, or an average accordingly.
30 minutes on both a laptop and a
of one signal per second.
smartphone, in this case the iPhone
version 4.1. We also measured
baseline activity on the iPhone with Amount of mobile network signaling and data traffic generated
weather and email applications running by playing online poker for 30 minutes
in the background, also for 30 minutes. 3.5 2100

3.0 1800 1996


Laptop gaming
What we found was that both the
Signals generated

2.8 MB
Data traffic in MB

2.5 has more ads 1500


smartphone and the laptop generated
a reasonable amount of data traffic 2.0 1200

during game play. Assuming a fictional 1.5 900 Figure 1: Smart


1.5 MB Laptop gaming Lab test results
smartphone data rate plan of 10 GB for uses far fewer
1.0 600 comparing data traffic
€60, the data generated for this half individual data
connections and mobile network
hour would cost less than one cent to 0.5 300 344 signaling generated
151 kb 188
the end user. The laptop uses twice as 0 0 by smartphones and
Smartphone Smartphone Laptop Smartphone Smartphone Laptop laptops playing the
much data because game servers baseline gaming gaming baseline gaming gaming
same online game for
(weather, etc) (weather, etc)
push more ads to the end user when half an hour
Source: Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Labs, November 2010
they detect that a laptop is the end
device. Source: Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Labs, November 2010

Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper 3


population. Even more startling, smartphones started to be used prolonged time spent in the active
Zynga’s servers deliver 1 Petabye of heavily by many users in concentrated data transmission mode consumes
data per day, which is 25% higher than areas, customers in the U.S. and significant amounts of battery power.
the current global mobile internet traffic Europe started complaining that the This isn’t an issue for laptops, but for a
total of 0.82 Petabytes per day. Most of quality of their voice and data services smartphone, long times spent actively
this traffic is being delivered over fixed was no longer good. In some densely connected to the network meant that
lines today, but it is a certainty that populated cities, the issues were its battery can easily drain completely
something this popular worldwide will particularly acute, and the end-user in a matter of hours.
move squarely into the mobile space complaints particularly loud. Analysis
once improved network speeds and of the network traffic showed that – When end users started complaining
latency provide a powerfully good surprise! – smartphones were the about poor battery life in early
gaming experience over mobile problem. smartphones, handset manufacturers
as well. responded to their needs by
But smartphones don’t generate introducing proprietary features to
anything like the amount of data that prolong battery life – but the same
2.2  The smartphone
laptops do. So what was the problem? power-saving features ended up being
challenge The answer lies in how smartphones a significant root cause of increased
and laptops behave differently in the signaling load.
At first, operators were pleased when network.
they saw that smart devices were, Signaling traffic consists of the small
on average, generating only about With an eye on the laptop user background messages exchanged
one-tenth the data traffic that laptops experience, since laptop users were between a handset and a network
were. Even better, smartphone initially presumed to be the most to set up or end a data connection.
customers have been measured to frequent users of high-speed mobile Laptops generate very little signaling
generate a 20-60% increase of ARPU data, operators worldwide had initially traffic because they tend to connect
at operators in Western Europe, for optimised their wireless networks for to the network and stay connected.
example. The combination of higher browsing. One way that they did this But smartphones, driven by popular
returns and lower network use means was by keeping the data channel applications such as social networking,
that smartphone users are good mobile active as long as possible to give a email, online gaming, and news reports
data customers, and operators have smooth end-user experience. Making that require constant updates, are
shown that they are willing to invest the initial connection to the network to constantly making and breaking
to attract and keep them. Globally, send or receive data necessarily takes connections, all of which generates
smartphones now account for 75% a bit of time, but if the data connection signaling traffic. And it’s this signaling
of handset subsidies. stays active, users do not have to load that increased and started causing
endure repeated set-up delays each network problems when handset
But there is an additional result time their device reconnects. The only manufacturers began to take action to
of smartphone popularity. Once drawback to this approach is that extend their battery life.

4 Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper


3.  Fast Dormancy and its consequences
The proprietary software feature that
Customer [MA-7]
smartphone manufacturers introduced 145,000,000
to prolong battery life is called Fast 140,000,000

Dormancy. In the 3GPP standard, it is 135,000,000


130,000,000 Data growth rate
the network which determines what 125,000,000 in period:
65%
level of activity, or state, the handset 120,000,000
115,000,000
is in. With Fast Dormancy, handset 110,000,000
manufacturers took advantage of a 105,000,000
100,000,000
loophole in the standard to enable the 95,000,000
handset to determine its own state. In 90,000,000 Signaling growth
rate in period:
the new smartphone behaviour that 85,000,000
80,000,000 177%
Fast Dormancy brings, the handset 75,000,000
forces the network to release its 70,000,000
65,000,000
data connection the moment it has 60,000,000
downloaded a piece of data, then 55,000,000
50,000,000
the handset disconnects from the 45,000,000
network and returns to the Idle state. Dec-2009 Jan-2010 Feb-2010 Mar-2010 Apr-2010 May-2010 Jun-2010 Jul-2010
The benefit of Fast Dormancy is that HSDPA data volume (IMAC - d) at lub - RNC_608 RAB attempts PS - RNC_616
smartphone battery life is improved
Figure 2: Data growth (orange line) and signaling growth (blue line) in a live network in Western Europe
once handsets are no longer held for between December 2009 and July 2010. Cell_PCH is not active. During the period, the data volume grew
long periods of time in the Active state. 65% and the signaling volume grew 177%. The significantly higher signaling growth rate is due to the high
This benefit is immediately visible number of handsets with Fast Dormancy active in the network.

to end users, who understandably


appreciate smartphone batteries that
last longer. The drawback is that Data and signaling traffic by terminal type, Fast
Fast dormancy
dormancy
because the handset is now spending measured November 2010 overrides
overrides
the shortest time possible in the Active Cell_PCH
Cell_PCH
state, if a smartphone wants to connect 100 Dongles – 1%
to the network again to send more
Percentage of total amount

data, it must initiate an entirely new Others – 19%


80
connection from the Idle state. And Dongles – 60%
this greatly increases signaling traffic, 60
Blackberry – 26%
which wastes network resources Fast dormancy on

and can ultimately mean that fewer


40
smartphones are able to connect. Others – 12% HTC Android – 32%
Blackberry – 2% Fast dormancy on
The chart to the right is an example 20 HTC Android – 8%
from a European network. The chart iPhone – 18% iPhone – 22%
Fast dormancy off
shows the distribution of data traffic 0
and signaling traffic among different Data traffic Signaling
traffic
devices. It shows that the vast majority
Source: Nokia Siemens Networks, 2010.
of the signaling in the network is
generated by smartphones, but that Figure
Source:3: DataSiemens
Nokia and signaling volumes
Networks, 2010. measured in a live commercial network in Western Europe,
there are also big differences between November 2010. Note that while dongles consume 60% of the data traffic, they generate only 1% of the
signaling traffic, since laptops tend to connect once to the network and stay connected. Smartphones, on
smartphone types. the other hand, make up only 40% of the data traffic but generate 99% of the signaling traffic.

Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper 5


Apple’s iPhone, on the other hand, from Idle to Active and back again to
Smart Lab Test Result: The
began using a modified version of Fast Idle. Apple’s introduction of this Fast
effects of Fast Dormancy Dormancy in their iOS4.1 software Dormancy backlight modification is one
release in mid-2010 in which the of the main reasons for its overall lower
The Nokia Siemens Networks Smart handset is not forced back to Idle if the signaling load.
Lab was asked by a major Europrean backlight is still on. This follows the
operator to determine the effects of logic that if the backlight is on, the user Nokia smartphones sold since June
multitasking, or multiple simultaneously is actively looking at the phone and 2010 only activate Fast Dormancy
active applications, on signaling may request more data from the when the network doesn’t support
volumes. To do this, we compared network in the next few seconds. Cell_PCH (see Section 4.1) or if
signaling load per device in a Keeping the phone connected to the network parameters are not optimized
multitasking scenario with five apps: network in this case greatly reduces for device power consumption, so their
browsing, a weather widget, email, the signaling otherwise generated phones also generate far fewer signals
Google maps, and Facebook. The when handsets continually bounce than Android models.
Android device generated more than
twice as much signaling as the other
handsets, due to its own particular Fast Signaling messages by terminal type
Dormancy implementation.
1600

The Nokia Siemens Networks 1400


conclusion is that the larger signaling
load caused by Android devices is not 1200
only due to multitasking (iPhone and
1000
Symbian devices support multitasking Offpeak
nowadays, too) but is due to the way 800 Transition
fast dormancy has been implemented Peak
600
in Android devices.
400
Android devices are currently known to
200
use a basic form of fast dormancy,
which is not sensitive to whether the 0
network is able to support Cell_PCH. iPhone iOS4.1 Android Nexus One iPad 4.2 Nokia N8
Consequently, Android devices cause
a higher signaling load than other
devices on the network.

3.1  Nokia Siemens networks. Part of the 3GPP standard connection times. Waiting for
Networks and Cell_PCH but only widely used commercially by 30 signals to be sent means that
Nokia Siemens Networks, the use of establishing each new data connection
While handset manufacturers were Cell_PCH was originally designed to can take up to two seconds. But
dealing with the battery life challenges reduce data connection set-up time. waiting for 12 signals to be sent only
brought by smartphones, network When a handset is returned to the Idle requires half a second. The result
operators were discovering that in their state after making a data connection, is a clear gain in improved end-user
networks that had been optimized for the entire round trip from Idle to Active experience through shorter wait
laptops, smartphones were generating and back to Idle requires 30 signaling periods when each new data
increasingly unmanageable signaling messages. But when a handset is connection is made. Nokia Siemens
loads. maintained not in the Idle state, but Networks began implementing Cell_
in the Cell_PCH mode between PCH in commercial networks from the
To solve this problem, Nokia Siemens active connections, it only requires very beginning of the 3G era in order to
Networks began recommending use of 12 signaling messages for the round deliver precisely this better user
the paging channel, or Cell_PCH, in its trip. The advantage? Much shorter experience.

6 Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper


years – override Cell_PCH and create
Active = >200 mA DCH/HSPA inactivity timer Competition significantly more signaling traffic than
network planners ever expected.
Cell_FACH = >100 mA 30 signaling CELL_FACH inactivity timer
messages
Operators with 100% Nokia Siemens
Networks radio equipment who have
enabled Cell_PCH and asked the
Idle = <5 mA major handset manufacturers to
IDLE 2s IDLE
disable Fast Dormancy in their market,
have been able to benefit from the
DCH/HSPA inactive Nokia increased battery life, decreased
Active = >200 mA signaling, and shortened data
Siemens
12 signaling CELL_FACH inactive Networks connection wait times that Cell_PCH
Cell_FACH = >100 mA
messages offers. But the reality is that most
3 signaling operators have multiple vendors for
Cell_PCH = <5 mA messages their network equipment, not just one.
PCH PCH

<0.5 s 3.2  Network Controlled Fast


Figure 5: Nokia Siemens Networks generates fewer signals and requires less handset battery power than other network Dormancy
vendors. Up until now using Cell_PCH in
multivendor networks has been a
A bonus in using Cell_PCH is that with have shown that Nokia Siemens challenge, as no other network vendor
shorter wait times for new connections, Networks’ implementations of employs this standard technique
handsets can be kept in the Active Cell_PCH can reduce signaling from widely and successfully, despite all
state for much less time than in non- 30% to 50% and cut needed SGSN smartphones having built-in Cell_PCH
Cell_PCH networks. With a short wait capacity nearly in half, which provides capability.
time and few signals generated by welcome relief to networks increasingly
each individual data connection, it is no dominated by smartphones. A compromise was finally found when
longer necessary to hold the handset the 3GPP standards body developed
in Active for long periods just in case The problem was that this win-win-win a solution called Network Controlled
the user wants to request new data solution for latency, battery life and Fast Dormancy, also known as
from the network – setting up a new signaling was incompatible with Release 8 Fast Dormancy. With
data connection is no problem for handset vendor-proprietary Fast Network Controlled Fast Dormancy,
either the user or the network. Because Dormancy. Since Fast Dormancy smartphones can now act dynamically,
of this, Cell_PCH brings both shorter software in the handset overrides the exploiting Cell_PCH on Nokia Siemens
data connection setup times and network and forces handsets back Networks’ smart networks or adjusting
longer battery life – nearly 50% longer down to Idle between data to Fast Dormancy on other vendors’
in independent testing. connections, it also overrides Cell_ traditional networks.
PCH – handsets with Fast Dormancy
Now, with the advent of smartphones, always go to Idle, not Cell_PCH, and The result is that on the Cell_PCH-
Nokia Siemens Networks discovered then need the full 30 signals and a enabled part of the network, both
that in Cell_PCH, we had also long two seconds to reconnect to the battery life and signaling are optimized,
developed a method of reducing network for the next data connection. and in the non-Cell_PCH part of the
overall signaling traffic just as This means that handsets with Fast network, at least end users have the
smartphones were increasing it. Dormancy enabled – which includes improved battery performance that
Independent tests in live networks all major smartphones in recent proprietary Fast Dormancy brings – but
still with the greatly increased signaling
traffic that proprietary Fast Dormancy
brings as well. The real benefit is that
Network Controlled Fast Dormancy
allows operators to fully benefit from
Cell_PCH in the Nokia Siemens
Networks portion of multivendor
networks.

Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper 7


4. The smartphone industry
addresses the issue
Unlike Cell_PCH, which builds on the what they called Quick Release to all of feature into our RU20 release of
paging channel that is already a their smartphones. With Quick Release, WCDMA, which launched in the second
feature of every commercial handset, the handset senses the settings in the half of 2010 and is now running
Network Controlled Fast Dormancy network and changes its behaviour to commercially in dozens of networks
requires support from both the network ensure that it is optimized no matter worldwide.
and the handset. This means that which equipment it is currently on.
multiple players in the industry must When in a Nokia Siemens Networks
4.3 Apple
work together in order to bring it fully to sector that has Cell_PCH enabled,
market. the handset uses the Cell_PCH In November 2010, Apple launched the
functionality and both operator and end latest release of its iPhone software,
user benefit from reduced signaling iOS 4.2. With this software upgrade,
4.1 Nokia
and increased battery life. When in the iPhone 4 became the first
The very first industry player to bring a other networks suppliers’ sectors where commercially available handset to use
product to market that balanced the Cell_PCH is not deployed, the handset the standardized Network Controlled
realities of Cell_PCH vs Fast Dormancy changes its behavior and doesn’t rely Fast Dormancy feature that Nokia
was Nokia. Beginning in the second on the network to guide its battery- Siemens Networks implemented in its
quarter of 2010, Nokia began adding saving activities, but instead proactively radio networks at the end of
shortens the length of time that it September 2010.
spends in the active state – in short, it
mimics proprietary Fast Dormancy Nokia Siemens Networks fully expects
Smart Lab Test Result: Apple’s Fast behaviour. This helps the phone all smartphone manufacturers to include
Dormancy evolution measurably prolong its battery life on this feature in their handsets eventually,
the non-Nokia Siemens Networks but the Apple version was the first one
portion of the network as well, thus to be available publicly. And because
The Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Lab has
enabling multivendor operators to get Apple is able to roll out software quickly
evaluated the signaling performance of iPhones
the benefits of turning on Cell_PCH and efficiently to its existing handset
using three different flavours of Fast Dormancy:
on one part of their network without base through their iTunes platform, the
the “old”, proprietary Fast Dormancy of iOS4.0,
sacrificing battery performance on the iPhone 4 models already out in the
Fast Dormancy with the backlight modification of
other. The result is improved battery market will be enabled with Network
iOS4.1 in which Fast Dormancy is only activated
life across the entire network and Controlled Fast Dormancy quite quickly
if the backlight is off (see text box “The Effects of
significant signaling reductions in the – the usual rate of updates for iPhones
Fast Dormancy”), and iOS4.2, in which Network
Nokia Siemens Networks portion. is for 70% of handsets in the market to
Controlled Fast Dormancy is active.
be updated with new software releases
within one month.
The result shows clearly that Apple’s efforts to 4.2 Qualcomm
reduce the signaling messages created by its
The next step beyond Nokia’s Quick Together, Apple and Nokia made up
handsets have been successful. The use of
Release is the full implementation of 50% of global smartphone sales in Q3
Network Controlled Fast Dormancy in iOS4.2 on
standards-compliant Network Controlled of 2010. With Nokia’s Quick Release
a Network Controlled Fast Dormancy-supporting
Fast Dormancy. One of the early movers (which is in effect a proprietary,
network drops the amount of signaling generated
in this area has been Qualcomm, which handset-based version of Network
by a baseline set of applications and activities
has been developing the chipsets Controlled Fast Dormancy) and Apple’s
by 55% from Apple’s original proprietary Fast
necessary for the handset to support the Network Controlled Fast Dormancy
Dormancy.
feature. In late 2010, Nokia Siemens support, half of all new smartphones
Apple Fast Dormancy evolution
Networks and Qualcomm together entering the market from here forwards
completed interoperability testing of will be able to use Network Controlled
1600
1400
1435 Network Controlled Fast Dormancy Fast Dormancy from the start. It will not
1200 on a standards-compliant handset and take long for a critical mass of Network
1000 Signaling network pair. It was the industry’s first Controlled Fast Dormancy handsets to
843
800 messages
public instance of collaboration fill the world’s smartphone market, thus
637 RABs
600
supporting Network Controlled Fast making it fully commercially viable for
400
200
Dormancy and demonstrated that it operators with networks provided by
0
33 7
1
was possible to maximize smartphone multiple vendors to enable Network
iOS4 iOS4.1 iOS4.2 battery life while simultaneously Controlled Fast Dormancy in their
providing optimum performance for networks and to begin seeing signaling
Figure 6: Signaling messages generated by different
versions of iPhone software as measured in the Nokia wireless network operators. Nokia reductions in their networks – as long
Siemens Networks Smart Lab. Siemens Networks then brought the as at least some of the network radio is
Network Controlled Fast Dormancy provided by Nokia Siemens Networks.

8 Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper


5. What’s next in smartphone management –
the Nokia Siemens Networks solution
Finding the right balance between capacity into subracks, and when one markets in which the bulk of
battery life and network signaling is reaches full capacity, that reduces the smartphone traffic is carried on GSM,
at the heart of the Nokia Siemens signaling effectiveness of the entire not WCDMA, and provides key
Networks smartphone-friendly network. network. But with one single pooled smartphone optimization solutions
With the Cell_PCH solution that we RNC, Nokia Siemens Networks is able and services for GSM as well.
began to implement at the very start of to bring every bit of its available RNC
the 3G era, Nokia Siemens Networks capacity into play before encountering Overall, Nokia Siemens Networks’
leads the telecommunications industry capacity issues. This enables us to focus on reducing signaling translates
in its ability to provide support for support 4-10 times more smartphones directly into savings in network
smartphones that meets the needs at once in our networks than other hardware, both in Radio Network
of both operators (low signaling) and vendors can. Controller and Packet Core CAPEX,
end users (longer battery lifetime). while the focus on improving battery
Other features include Continuous lifetime brings tangible benefits to end
But Cell_PCH is only one aspect of the Packet Connectivity and High-Speed users as well.
Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Cell_FACH, which both extend
Networks for Smartphones solution. handset battery life, the RNC 2600 Looking into the future, Nokia Siemens
For example, Nokia Siemens Networks with its quintupled signaling capacity, Networks is also actively working
also greatly increases its overall and direct Cell_PCH to Cell_DCH to ensure optimized smartphone
signaling capacity by using a pooled transitions for faster data connection behaviour in LTE networks from their
Radio Network Controller, or RNC. setup times. Nokia Siemens Networks very earliest implementations.
Other vendors divide their RNC also recognizes that there are many

6.  Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Labs


To truly meet the expectations of and systems integrators. There are are placing on their network evolution
people who demand always-on labs in Espoo, Finland, Dallas, Texas, and day-to-day operations. We also
connectivity, the key components and Seoul, Korea, in addition to other share test results directly with
of the mobile Internet ecosystem – facilities dedicated specifically to the interested operators.
applications, devices, and networks – needs of single operators.
must work together smoothly. This can Nokia Siemens Networks is leading
only be achieved when all ecosystem In the Nokia Siemens Networks Smart the industry in its discovery of new
stakeholders work together toward the Labs, smartphone applications are run smartphone-oriented modes of
same goal. To do this, Nokia Siemens over different devices, operating operation, not only technically, but also
Networks established Smart Labs in systems and mobile browsers on with developments such as the Smart
early 2010 to ensure that applications, the latest implementations of our Labs. By testing new smartphone
devices and networks are designed GSM, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE radio handset software versions and
to interwork seamlessly from the technologies. This is done in applications before release, Nokia
beginning of production, launch or collaboration with leading application Siemens Networks can get ahead of
deployment. and device vendors, and with the the curve and advise operators on
participation of mobile operators to how to prepare for new smartphone
The Smart Labs focus on the key provide the connection to real life challenges before they arise. The
factors that have the most impact on needs. The results of our Smart Labs Smart Lab test results highlighted
the smartphone experience, and drive activity are used by Nokia Siemens throughout this paper provide an
alignment across those elements Networks Consulting, which helps indication of the kinds of insights that
in cooperation with the industry’s operators improve their understanding we generate and share.
leading service providers, device of the particular requirements that
manufacturers, application developers, commercial and emerging applications

Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper 9


The Nokia Siemens Networks Smart Even though the Nokia Siemens Smart For network operators, collaboration
Labs have been actively engaging Labs are a relatively new aspect of with Nokia Siemens Networks in the
operators, device manufacturers, and our creation of the most smartphone- Smart Labs brings:
application developers, both publicly friendly networks in the industry, they •  Access to test results and insights
and under NDA. Examples of activities have already shown substantial •  Deeper understanding of how to
conducted with different partner groups benefits to those who have design, optimize and operate
include: collaborated with us there. networks for mainstream internet
•  Application and device tests in the For application developers and device applications
Smart Lab according to partner need vendors, these benefits include: •  Improved abiltity to optimize
•  Investigation of application behaviors •  The opportunity to test and develop applications and services in different
and effects on user experience, applications over next-generation network conditions, including
battery life, and network load mobile networks variation across fair usage policies,
•  Joint projects to optimize network •  A faster development cycle and during network congestion, and with
and application behavior better early optimization, including varying signal strengths
•  Testing different parameter settings verification of performance and
to find the optimal settings for best network impact before launch One of the key benefits of the Smart
user experience and network load •  New possibilities for collaboration Labs is our “just over the horizon” focus,
•  Optimization of application behavior with major operators in which we look not only at the popular
under a variety of network conditions •  Identification of improved software applications of today, but also at what’s
•  Smart Lab test findings overview development practices that provide coming next. In this way, we and our
workshops network and end user optimization as partners stay informed and prepared,
well as good application performance whatever the next killer app or device is.

Smart Lab Test Result: sending more keep-alive messages thousands of dollars, but pumps up
until the firewall reestablishes the the signal volume in the network,
Signaling and Firewall TCP connection. Then, after another 10 potentially causing much greater
timeout settings minutes of inactivity, the firewall spends to deal with RNC capacity
terminates the connection, and the issues. This illustrates the importance of
Several operators have reported to cycle starts all over again. This greatly understanding smartphones and their
us that they have seen an increase magnifies the network effort needed to effects not just in the radio network,
in signaling traffic when the TCP support keep-alive messages. but right across the enterprise, so that
connection timeout period has been operators can balance, in this example,
reduced in their firewalls between the We at Nokia Siemens Networks have firewall optimization on the one hand
network and the open internet. They found that in the real world, some with network optimization on the other.
asked us to look into this. operators have TCP timeout settings
that are as short as two minutes. This Nokia Siemens Networks recommends
The results clearly show that signaling helps reduce the needed database a firewall TCP connection timeout
does increase when TCP connection capacity of the firewall, saving some setting of 35 minutes or more.
timeout settings are shortened. On
average, we found that a setting of Amount of signaling in one hour
five minutes generated 74% more
signaling traffic overall than a setting of 1600
60 minutes. 1400
Skype on iPhone,
What is happening is that when 1200 push enabled
the firewall timeout is set to a short 1000
Skype on iPhone,
duration, it’s actually shorter than the 800 push disabled
duration of the keep-alive messages
sent by some of the handset 600 Facebook on
applications. So if, say, Skype sends a 400 iPhone, push
keep-alive message every 15 minutes, enabled
200
but the firewall times out and breaks
the internet connection after only 10 0
minutes, the next keep-alive message 60 minutes 10 minutes 5 minutes
will fail because the connection to the
internet is gone. So Skype will keep Firewall TCP connection timeout settings

10 Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper


7.  Recommendations for the mobile industry
Nokia Siemens Networks recognizes •  Optimizing usage of presence improvement in signaling efficiency and
that our findings in the Smart Labs are updates and status update performance to just about any network:
only valuable when they’re shared with messages •  Activatíng Cell_PCH for the whole
the rest of the industry. To this end, we •  Taking advantage of cacheing and network
conclude with recommendations for reducing optionally downloadable •  Activating Network Controlled Fast
operators, application developers and data items such as images or Dormancy (also known as 3GPP
device manufacturers about how each attachments Release 8 Fast Dormancy)
can work to best share the scarce •  Avoiding protocols that require polling •  Setting T1+T2 to be less than five
resources of mobile networks in a fair •  Closing data connections when no seconds in order to reduce
way, so that all participants benefit – longer needed smartphone power consumption
the end user most of all. •  Opting for TCP over UDP since •  Optimizing other RNC parameters to
TCP requires fewer keep-alive suit the network-specific traffic profile
messages – this is especially (Nokia Siemens Networks can help)
7.1 Application important for always-on applications •  Utilizing Cell_FACH for the most
Developers and Device such as push email efficient handling of very small “keep-
•  Choosing periodic bursty data alive” messages
Manufacturers
transfers rather than a constant •  Ensuring that the inactivity timer in
“drop-by-drop” transfer the firewall that faces the public
Application developers and device
•  Utilizing network access optimisation internet is set to be at least 35
manufacturers naturally focus on
APIs (such as the notification API) in minutes to prevent the excessive
creating the best end-user experience
order to synchronize/group signaling that comes from retries
possible. While this is the ultimate
transactions with the network when the internet connection is
goal of all members of the mobile
•  Using message buffering/ prematurely terminated
ecosystem, it’s important for a balance
aggregation between different •  Upgrading to the most recent and
to be found so that excellence in
applications as much as possible powerful RNC hardware and
application design does not come at
•  Reducing network interaction when software for maximum network
a cost of excess battery drainage or
the application is not in active use signaling capacity without the cost or
massive signaling increase.
complications of adding new RNCs
We encourage application developers •  Upgrading to the Nokia Siemens
Power management is probably the
who want to know more about how to Networks multicontroller RNC for
most critical issue here, since it affects
optimize their applications for software-definable capacity allocation
end user delight so directly and, poorly
commercial networks to contact us. per traffic profile to flexibly allocate
managed, can have tremendous
signaling and control plane capacity
knock-on effects on the network. There
as signaling grows in your network
is no simple, straightforward solution to 7.2 Operators
•  i-HSPA for hot areas where RNCs
the power consumption issue, so it
from any vendor are reaching
must be considered on all fronts and Both in the Smart Labs and in the
capacity, to offload the signaling
addressed with many small actions. nearly 200 commercial Nokia Siemens
traffic in capacity crunch spots
WCDMA networks currently running
and eliminate the need for adding
Ways that application developers and globally, we have had the opportunity
new RNCs
device manufacturers can help to find to observe and conclude what network
this optimal balance among end user settings best help smartphones and
performance, battery lifetime, and applications run smoothly and behave Please contact us if you would like to
signaling volumes include: well. While networks are necessarily learn more about our Smart Lab
•  Optimizing data transmission for size complex entities whose optimization findings or how we may be able to
and minimizing the size of keep-alive is best handled on a one-on-one, collaborate with you to improve
messages in order to utilize Cell_ consultative basis, we have found that smartphone performance on your
FACH/RACH taking these actions can bring an network.

Understanding smartphone behavior in the network white paper 11


8. Conclusion
With the great popularity of best smartphone performance possible If you would like to know more about
smartphones comes great during the entire time that mobile how you or your company can work
responsibility for the industry to support high-speed data has been available. with us in our Smart Labs to address a
them well. Today, four times more We build on our deep knowledge of particular smartphone issue or to
people use mobile broadband on how networks and smartphones best increase your overall understanding
smartphones than on laptops, so the work together to reach out to the of the ecosystem, please go to
smartphone segment is actually the rest of the industry as a partner and www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/
main user group of the advanced data collaborator, for it is only in working smartlabs. We look forward to hearing
products that we as an industry together on the issues posed by from you.
provide. It’s important to get it right. smartphones that we’ll all be able
to deliver the end results that our
At Nokia Siemens Networks, we’ve customers want.
designed our networks to deliver the

Nokia Siemens Networks


P.O. Box 1
FI-02022 NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS
Finland
Visiting address:
Karaportti 3, ESPOO, Finland

Switchboard +358 71 400 4000 (Finland)


Switchboard +49 89 5159 01 (Germany)

Product code: C401-00686-WP-201101-1-EN

Copyright © 2011 Nokia Siemens Networks.


All rights reserved.

Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation,


Siemens is a registered trademark of Siemens AG.
The wave logo is a trademark of Nokia Siemens Networks Oy.
Other company and product names mentioned in this document
may be trademarks of their respective owners, and they are
mentioned for identification purposes only.

This publication is issued to provide information only and is not


to form part of any order or contract. The products and services
described herein are subject to availability and change without
notice. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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