[3g-g]

Something the BBC were reporting a few days ago, perhaps the only increase in use is due to data bundles etc, I don't think there's been any specific jump in traffic because people are finding the services useful, it's just they've some free allowance on their monthly tariff. Surely though, if free usage stimulates growth or use, then flat all you can eat data would have the bytes flowing to the handsets? Oh wait, that's something we've been harking on about since 2 years ago. ;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309593.stm


Mobile phone users in the UK accessed the internet via their handsets about 15.9 million times throughout December 2006, says the Mobile Data Association.

The association's report shows an increase of one million unique sessions over November 2006, the prior record.

However, much of the recent increase could be due to seasonal gift-giving said Thomas Husson, a mobile analyst at Jupiter Research.

In the past three months, mobile users accessed the web 45.6 million times.

Unique consumer internet sessions on the O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone networks were included in the report.

Despite the new numbers, Mr Husson said mobile data was "far from being mainstream".

[Hands0n]

The networks are not addressing the simplest of needs - Internet via the mobile, not mobile Internet, two different things.

Consider this possible scenario:
I live in rented accommodation, and prone to relocate routinely (annually, six-monthly etc).I'm out at work all day, my PC/Mac is at home switched off. When I get home I jack the handset into its desktop stand which just happens to be connected to the PC/Mac/Wireless-Router/WHY. From that point on, I have HSDPA delivered broadband Internet into my home, my phone is charging, with a clever VoIP/DECT connection I could still use it for calls while being on the Internet. All of my voice and data is supplied to me by my one carrier, the mobile network operator of my choice for a fixed-fee flat-rate of, say, £35-£40pcm.

The technology to deliver all of that exists today. The data tariffs preclude any such notion.

But the mobile network operators truly believe that I should be accessing the Internet from my mobile handset while on the move. A ridiculous notion given the .mobi domain which seeks to deliver my Internet experience in the palm of my hand!!!

[Ben]

Are there still major capacity concerns for data over UMTS in terms of backhaul? I appreciate that the masts wern't built to be Internet hubs/switching centres but surely there's a reason why the networks continue to piddle away this massive opportunity they have while WiMAX grows ever closer!

I can't imagine there are too many restrictions at the air interface level, especially given the capacity benefits of HSDPA.

[3g-g]

Are there still major capacity concerns for data over UMTS in terms of backhaul?

Most, if not all Node Bs are served by a 2Mbit supply, some busier ones on a 4Mbit link, HSDAP ones I've found tend to be on 8Mbit pipes... Behind the scenes there's loadsa capacity!

[bsrjl1]

There's also the issue of soft handover, just because there's 10 sites with 2Mb links doesn't mean that you can carry 20Mb of data. HSDPA helps this a lot, but if you move you drop down to a DCH & then back into the new HS-DSCH. It is possible for a 384k call to use 1Mb over 3 NodeBs, but quite unlikely.

[Hands0n]

I would be very surprised if at the back end there were any real network capacity issues. If there were, then its time for a new capacity planning team :D

The air interface being bog-standard 3G or HSDPA has its very definite limitations, I understand. The links betwixt transmitter and network, if they are fibre or cable, should be able to be upspeeded in response to need or demand. I reckon that there is sufficient telemetry in the networks to be able to gather and collate usage statistics to be ahead of the demand curve. But is this the case, are the stats being used like this?

I do feel that the networks are playing Chicken & Egg, but not doing it very well. Demand will never be stimulated at £7.50 per MByte (worst case I know of). T-Mobile's Web N Walk Pro at £12.50 for 3GB FUP (best case I know of) works out at £0.0041 per megabyte, an altogether much more reasonable proposition.

For data to go "mainstream" we need to get into the thick skulls of the mobile network operators that price is king. We saw that with SMS when at 60p a pop nothing much happened, but at 10p a go SMS became a significant income stream. Can the MNOs be so woollyeyed that they cannot see the parallels with their other offerings such as Data and Video. Right now the latter are far too expensive to contemplate, generally.

[maxspank]

I don't think it's just free allowance that's increased data useage, I think the quality of mobile internet plays a part too. Mobile internet is no longer just ceefax for your phone, on the latet devices you can access almost any web page whilst on the move, and any webpage when using your phone as a modem. Also the introduction of better quality data cards with the ability to access the internet at broadband speeds is a plus point. You no longer need a Blackberry for push email as alot of the latest handsets support this also. These points make mobile data use more attractive.