June 11, 2019
Google Stadia might give operators the jitters
- Cloud gaming service will test telcos’ DSP capabilities to their limit
- Might cause a rethink on mobile data caps, traffic management
- Google isn’t the only big name firmly focused on cloud gaming
Far from only shaking up the video game industry, Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service looks likely to ruffle a few feathers in the telco sector too.
Reason being, the Internet giant recently shared Stadia’s minimum and recommended broadband speed requirements, and in short, they could spell trouble for any mobile operator aspiring to enable its customers to access the service over its network.
To use Stadia on a phone, gamers will need at least a 10 Mbps connection. While that should be eminently achievable on today’s cellular networks, the problem comes from the volume of data consumed. At that consistent speed, an hour of gameplay will use 4.5 GB. That’s a sizeable chunk of mobile data allowance in just one hour.
That’s the minimum. Google’s recommended speed is 35 Mbps. This is for gamers who want the big-screen, 4K experience on a TV, PC or games console, rather than on a phone. But if a customer had the bright idea of connecting their home entertainment system to a mobile broadband dongle, or using their phone as a hotspot, they would chew through 15.8 GB of data per hour at 35 Mbps.
Telecom TV’s Nick Wood Confirms mobilityView Prediction On Costs Associated w/ Cloud Gaming
mobilityView published an article earlier this year on the very topic and it looks like author Nick Wood confirms :
1 Hour standard definition video game streaming = 4.5 GB / hour 1 Hour high definition video game streaming = 15 gb / hour
Modest gamer will do 16 to 20 hours / month of streaming…
Google Stadia might give operators the jitters
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