Rethinking Speed in Telcos: A Call to Focus on User Experience

In the fast-paced world of telecommunications, the relentless pursuit of speed has long been the industry's benchmark. However, this focus may need to shift for business survival. Our comprehensive academic report challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding speed in the Telco industry, presenting a compelling argument for a paradigm shift towards user experience. This executive summary highlights the key messages from the report, urging Telco leaders to reconsider their strategies.

The Fallacy of Speed Comparisons:

    • Inconsistent Measurement Standards: The lack of a unified approach to measuring speed, varying conditions, and numerous influencing factors lead to unpredictable and often contradictory results.

    • Irrelevance of Current Metrics: Traditional speed measurement regimes are increasingly seen as nonsensical and irrelevant, failing to provide meaningful insights for strategic decision-making.

Detriments of Speed Obsession:

    • Misaligned Application Needs: Contrary to popular belief, critical applications like video, gaming, and conferencing do not necessarily benefit from higher speeds.

    • Profitability Disconnect: There is a notable disconnect between speed enhancements and tangible profitability for Telcos.

    • Value Divergence: Speed and data volume often do not align with the actual 'value' perceived by consumers and Over-The-Top (OTT) service providers.

Advocating for User Experience Focus:

    • Measurable Application Experience: Our research demonstrates that application experience, unlike speed, can be accurately and cost-effectively measured at scale.

    • Gaming: The Case Study for User Experience: The report delves into gaming as a pivotal application, showcasing how focusing on user experience can drive substantial benefits.

    • Understanding Customer Needs: Emphasizing user experience aligns Telcos more closely with their customers' needs and preferences.


The report is a wake-up call for the Telco industry, advocating for a strategic shift from speed-centric metrics to user experience as the key driver. Leaders are encouraged to download the full report to understand the depth of our findings and realign their strategies for a more sustainable and profitable future in the telecommunications sector. This shift promises to enhance customer satisfaction and open new avenues for revenue and growth in an increasingly competitive market.

Get the Report

Vijay Sivaraman

Vijay, Co-Founder and CEO of Canopus, is a distinguished professor at UNSW, a leader in software-defined networking, holding four patents and over 100+ research articles, and has worked at Lucent Bell-Labs. B.Tech from IIT Delhi, PhD from UCLA

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