Posted on 03/23/2011 7:13:55 PM PDT by decimon
Cell phone carriers have a secret: Although they sell us data plans on their 3G or 4G networks, the idea of us actually using data brings them out in a cold sweat. Put simply, they're struggling to find the bandwidth to cope. There are forecasts that in 2012 cellular data requirements will reach 4.56 million terabytes--double that of this year.
It's down to networks designed for low-bandwidth voice calls. Some data provision was allowed in the original plans but the recent explosion in consumer smartphones was a bolt from the blue. Whereas mobile users were once happy to visit low-bandwidth mobile versions of sites (anybody remember WAP?), nowadays we expect the full high-bandwidth experience we have at home. Why should YouTube be off-limits just because we're at the coffee shop, especially bearing in mind our mobile devices have no problem playing video?
The solution is easy in theory: Put-up more cell phone towers, increasing radio bandwidth so more devices can be served at higher speeds. However, nobody really likes cell phone towers, and erecting them--especially in downtown locations--is usually expensive. And that's even if the necessary permits can be got.
A little lateral thinking leads to another solution: offering cell phone users access to public wireless Internet services, perhaps as part of their monthly package. However, hotspots are a mire of confusion and insecurity for users. Most hotspots are unsecured, easily allowing data snooping, and they often rely on individuals signing in and handing over credit card details--clumsy and a hassle.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
No. They are transmitted on separate virtual pipes, not separate physical pipes. Those dishes you see on cell towers have physical limits, and that's the only real pipe. Voice calls and Freeping are each taking a slice of that real pie.
Interesting story: One of the physical limits that exists is power, and you can increase the size of the "real" pipe by turning up the juice (but only to a point). There was a security guard who regularly set up a lawn chair adjecent to one of he large dishes on the ground. The microwave transmissions would warm him in the Canadian Winter. Well, he did it on Christmas day like he'd always done, but he didn't know they had cranked up the power to accommodate the anticipated Christmas phone traffic. You can guess how that one ended.
“They started it”
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That’s EXACTLY correct.
When you call down the thunder you better be ready for the BOOM.
I’m weary of these stupid carriers, with all the inane marketing chit they vomit forth, bitc#ing about too much
business.
eff them.
Question then: The spectrum utilization itself is the component of the pipe, correct? Meaning you're either using a channel or you're not. Today's modern smartphones maintain an always-on data connection for things like push email, etc., which would tie up a data connection 24/7, normally.
If that's all true, then what's the difference if I'm browsing low-bandwidth FR vs. high-bandwidth HD video (other than the theoretical throughput capacity of the cell site)? Both occupy the already-used connection to the cell tower for data. Voice would therefore be independent of this, and not suffer whatsoever in high bandwidth data vs. low bandwidth data.
Maybe my premise is wrong and high-bandwidth internet traffic consumes more of the spectrum, but I can't see justification of that anywhere on the net. I'll stand corrected if it does, however.
Ok, I see what you're saying. I don't have an answer because the article wasn't detailed enough. I don't know exactly where the bottleneck is. The article isn't clear if they're running out of virtual bandwidth or total bandwidth.
Think of cable TV 15 years ago. You still had analog channels coming through the same cable as the digital channels. Early on, the providers ran out of (for simplicity's sake) digital bandwidth, so they started over compressing digital channels to squeeze more in to the space available. That was fixed by upgrading the equipment on both the transmission and receiving end.
Later they hit another wall, and reached the limits of what the old copper could carry. Then even the analog channels started to suffer. That wasn't as easy a fix. The only to fix that was to lay tens of thousands of miles of new copper (or better yet, optical) cable.
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