A boosterdose for OTT

5G can move the processing ability of handsets to the cloud, increasing battery life, and thereby driving OTT audio and video consumption on mobile devices.

By Prashanth Rao

Connectivity is at the heart of OTT’s success. India has witnessed enormous growth in broadband subscribers, from 550 million in February 2019 to 765 million in February 2021. However, the average mobile internet download speed in India (17.77 Mbps) is far behind the global average of 55.07 Mbps, as of July 2021. Having said that, we all know that 5G data speed is expected to be around 10 Gbps, which will not only make for a rich user experience but also revolutionize the content available online.

The OTT industry – video and audio – in India is expected to grow nine-fold between 2021 and 2027, making it the fastest-growing OTT market in the world.

The roll-out of 5G networks would entail heavy investments in the form of Capex and spectrum. Telcos would make their ROI calculations based on use cases, which will thrive using the faster speed, higher bandwidth, and low latency offered by 5G. Over The Top (OTT) services, including streaming video, audio, and gaming, will provide many such use cases. OTT streaming services have grown significantly during the pandemic compared with preceding years. While the sector was riding on the back of strong socio-economic and demographic factors, the pandemic proved to be a catalyst, propelling the sector forward with its paid subscriber base growing 35% since early 2020. The OTT industry – video and audio – in India is expected to grow nine-fold between 2021 and 2027, making it the fastest-growing OTT market in the world.

5G will enable OTT providers to host live virtual events with greater audience interaction, talent shows through digital interventions, and live sporting events.

Further, 5G would enhance the immersive and interactive experience, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) streaming. Globally, this phenomenon is grabbing attention as several multi-year partnerships are unfolding. One such example is the partnership between the National Basketball Association (NBA), a live VR production partner, and a US telecommunications company, which will integrate VR viewing into the NBA League Pass streaming platform.

5G will enable OTT service providers to host live virtual events with greater audience interaction in-game and talent shows through digital interventions and live sporting events with a 360-degree view. Additionally, the combination may open up opportunities to integrate OTT content with e-commerce, offering viewers the ability to navigate to e-commerce sites to purchase apparel featured on their favorite show. Virtual hangouts would allow users to engage virtually, closely replicating the physical medium and enabling the convergence of sectors such as entertainment, audio, and gaming. For example, a renowned pop star held an album launch party within a well-known VR-based video game.

With networks designed for less than one-millisecond latency and cloud computing abilities, hyper-targeted advertisements that are customized in real-time for a target group’s location or viewing habits can help solve OTT service providers’ monetization woes. Low latency speeds coupled with advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) can also improve the performance of voice-based virtual assistants in content discovery. AI and NLP can also make quality content available to the masses in vernacular languages.

Hyper-targeted advertisements that are customized in real-time for a target group’s location or viewing habits can help solve OTT service providers’ monetization woes.

5G technology can move the processing ability of handsets to the cloud, increasing battery life, and thereby increasing OTT audio and video consumption on mobile devices.

Currently, OTT providers use a distributed network of web servers – Content Delivery Network (CDN) – to replicate and store content closer to the client for a better user experience; a multi-fold increase in bandwidth and reliability could reduce investments in CDN. We can expect an increase in user-generated content from smart devices. Cooperative media production could allow various users across multiple locations to work on the content simultaneously.

Stronger network capabilities could support OTT platforms’ initiatives, such as 4D/8D audio streaming and 4K/8K video streaming, stimulating the growth of newer media formats, production, and multicasting technologies. Additionally, 5G is expected to enhance the demand for high-end capable equipment, such as 4K/8K-recording mobile devices and televisions.

Stronger network capabilities could support initiatives such as 4D/8D audio streaming and 4K/8K video streaming, stimulating the growth of newer media formats.

Technological advancements in the areas of AR, VR, analytics, ML, NLP, encryption, and compression technologies, augmented by a strong 5G mobile network are expected to pave the way for widespread OTT adoption. Adequate reach and appropriate pricing of the 5G network and OTT services would be essential for this combination to achieve significant success. That said, only time will reveal the extent of its success in the Indian market.

Rao is Partner, Deloitte India.

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