Vodafone and Meta optimise short-form videos to improve network efficiency

Vodafone and Meta today announced that they have collaborated on a new way to free up network capacity for all mobile customers, including allowing them to view more high-quality short videos. This network optimisation has been applied in eleven European markets since the start of June this year.

In an initial three-week test conducted in the UK in April 2024, the companies recorded a meaningful reduction in network traffic for Meta applications across Vodafone’s mobile network. Vodafone freed up additional network resources on some of its most popular 4G/5G sites so that all mobile customers at these busy locations, such as shopping centres and transport hubs, benefited.

Both Vodafone and Meta are open to working with all players in the ecosystem to continuously improve the efficient use of network resources. Together, Vodafone and Meta will support growth in new digital services, keep critical applications free of congestion, and save energy.

Alberto Ripepi, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone, said: “Meta’s willingness to optimise the delivery of video for its applications paves the way for a more efficient use of existing network resources. Vodafone and Meta have implemented these optimisations across Vodafone’s European markets and intend to continue collaborating to foster additional efficiencies.”

Meta is focused on building on its existing optimisation and efficiency work by continuing to make improvements in video engineering and infrastructure deployment to enhance both the user experience and the efficiency of video applications. “Our relationship with Vodafone is a long-term partnership, and collaboration on video optimisation is an opportunity to drive innovation and shape the future of the internet. We are committed to continuing our collaboration with innovative partners like Vodafone, device manufacturers, equipment vendors, and the wider digital ecosystem to push the boundaries of video optimisation,” said Gaya Nagarajan, Vice President of Network Engineering at Meta.

The network optimisation has been applied in 11 countries, including Albania, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the UK. The level of reduction in network traffic varies based on several factors, including network load and end-user devices.