Effects of Network Performance on Smartphone User Behavior

• Main Author: Örblom, Markus
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Skolan för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (ICT) 2015
• Subjects: Computer and Information Sciences; Data- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-177547

While the relation between smartphone user behavior and contextual factors have been explored in previous research, the mobile networks’ influence on the smartphone user behavior is largely unknown. Through statistical analysis of a data set collected globally from ˜ 1000 users by an Android app called Ericsson Apps, this study investigates how the users’ app choices and app usage depend on the network performance. The results show, for instance, that the choice of app depends strongly on the network performance, suggesting that it is a factor in the users’ app choices. For example, Swedish users are ˜ 3 times more likely to use Facebook on LTE than when disconnected, i.e., no access to the mobile networks, while ˜ 4.6 times more likely to make a phone call when disconnectedthan on LTE. Additionally, the data analysis finds a demand for better performance in the mobile networks as the downlink data consumption grows linearly without decline, with respect to network performance, for media and video types of apps.