Connection types
Connection Types describes the network a device is using when the ad request is made: a wired link, Wi-Fi, or a cellular network of a given generation. Sellers send it in Device.connectiontype, and buyers use it to choose file sizes and bit rates and to separate mobile data traffic from home broadband.
Values
| Value | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
1 | Ethernet; Wired Connection | A wired network connection, typical of desktops, set top boxes, and smart TVs on a cable. |
2 | WIFI | A Wi-Fi connection, on any kind of device. |
3 | Cellular Network - Unknown Generation | A cellular data connection whose generation the seller cannot determine. |
4 | Cellular Network - 2G | A second-generation cellular connection, too slow for most video. |
5 | Cellular Network - 3G | A third-generation cellular connection, such as UMTS or HSPA. |
6 | Cellular Network - 4G | A fourth-generation (LTE) cellular connection; the highest value in OpenRTB 2.5's table. |
7 | Cellular Network - 5G | A fifth-generation cellular connection. It comes from the AdCOM list and is not in OpenRTB 2.5's table. |
Fields that use this list
How to use it
The value describes the active connection, not what the device could use. A phone on home Wi-Fi is 2, not 6. OpenRTB 2.0 to 2.5 defined 0 for an unknown connection, but the AdCOM list that OpenRTB 2.6 references has no 0, so on 2.6 an unknown connection should simply be left out; RTBlint reports 0 as openrtb.value.invalid on 2.6 snapshots. Value 7 (5G) is also an AdCOM addition, since the OpenRTB 2.5 table stopped at 4G.
Common mistakes
- Sending 0 for unknown on a 2.6 request. It was valid through OpenRTB 2.5 but is not in the AdCOM list; omit the field instead.
- Reporting the best network the device supports rather than the one in use, which makes Wi-Fi sessions look cellular.
- Putting WIFI in
Device.carrier. OpenRTB 2.5 removed the old reference to using WIFI as a carrier name; the carrier field names a mobile operator, and Wi-Fi belongs inDevice.connectiontype.
Validation
On OpenRTB 2.6 snapshots, RTBlint reports a value outside this list as openrtb.value.invalid. Paste a request into the tester to check the values you send.
Related lists
All lists are on the enumerated lists index.