Why Encryption is Still Impacting Mobile Video Quality of Experience

At a time when data breaches occur on an almost daily basis, undermining consumer confidence in enterprise IT’s ability to secure and protect private data, it might seem like the best solution is to increase efforts to encrypt data.

While encryption is an important part of securing data, it’s easy to underestimate the amount of complexity it adds to any service or device, especially in terms of the processing power required. On a surface level, encryption transforms one block of data reversibly into another. However, below the surface, encryption requires mathematical computation on data that needs to be read, reread, rewritten, confirmed and hashed.

Encrypting a text message is relatively simple. Encrypting video, however, is quite complicated, as computations occur on massive megabytes of data that’s constantly stored and retrieved. Moreover, video traffic is growing, especially as operators begin deploying 5G networks.

For instance, by the end of 2019, streaming services are expected from Apple, WarnerMedia and Disney+. In fact, video is predicted to account for nearly four-fifths of mobile network traffic by 2022 and almost 90% of 5G traffic according to the Mobile Video Industry Council, underscoring the need for mobile operators to build networks that can effectively handle the massive increase of encrypted traffic their networks are expected to carry.

The growth of video encryption

The increase of encrypted traffic isn’t a new challenge for operators. 4G networks brought about a seismic shift in connectivity and mobility, spurring the launch of millions of disruptive application-based businesses, including Spotify, Uber and Waze. But the unbridled freedom these new players enjoyed was short lived.

In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed how global intelligence agencies were accessing mobile data, often in collaboration with technology companies. Quick to react, Facebook, Google and others began encrypting data with secure protocols, and that encryption has remained in place ever since.

By the end of 2018, about 90 percent of mobile internet traffic was encrypted, and there was no single standard followed for encrypting that data. For instance, Google uses QUIC, an encryption protocol based on the user datagram protocol (UDP). By contrast, Facebook and Instagram use zero round trip time resumption (0-RTT).

The QUIC protocol already accounts for between 30 and 35 percent of the market, and it is considered one of the most popular and efficient delivery mechanisms for video streaming.

However, both protocols make it extremely difficult for operators to profile or optimize data with conventional traffic management tools, hindering their ability to deliver consistent quality of experience (QoE).

This article originally appeared on Telecoms.com.  Read the rest of the article on:

http://telecoms.com/opinion/why-encryption-is-still-impacting-mobile-video-quality-of-experience

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