Smartphones Are Achilles Heel for 3G Networks
Smartphones Are Achilles Heel for 3G Networks
19th October , 2009
US : Currently 3G smartphones are the minority device connected to 3G networks. But it has been recently discovered that one smartphone can use up to 8 times the 3G network signaling load data traffic as a single 3G USB dongle within a laptop.
This comparison was tested with an equal amount of data transmitted for each device. The study was conducted by Airvana and the company has called this affect the “load multiplier effect” and is common to all smartphone devices. The underlying cause for this is that smartphones are “always on” continually polling the 3G network.
Although smartphones may only account for a minority percentage of all devices on operator networks today, they are always on, moving between cell sites and continually 'polling' the network. This polling causes smartphones to use up to 2 or 3 times of the total signaling activity when compared to laptops.
For operators already concerned by the volume of data traffic generated by laptop users, this signaling load multiplier affect from smartphones highlights the urgent need for improved and alternative mobile data processing and off-load strategies.
Global annual shipments of smartphone handsets are projected to increase from nearly 200 million in 2009 to 450 million in 2013, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp. In the U.S., AT&T recently reported that smartphone penetration in their postpaid subscriber base has doubled to 36 percent and Verizon reported that 40 percent of their handsets sold in Q2 2009 were smartphones.
Similarly in Western Europe, industry analyst IDC recently reported 25 percent growth in sales of smartphones in Q2 2009 compared to Q2 2008. As smartphones also continue to grow in functionality and performance, coupled with growing acceptance of unlimited data plans, data usage on smartphones is poised to grow even faster than today's rates.
Such rapid growth, combined with the load multiplier effect, highlights the real potential for significant strain on networks as the mobile broadband market moves from the portability of laptops to the true mobility of smartphones.
More related News
3G Network Capacity Can Be Increased by Fifty Percent
3G Mobile Broadband to Stifle 3G Networks
3G Wireless Networks will Face Capacity Problems in 2010
Other News