27 October 2009
According to statistics reported by internet browser company, Opera, data traffic increased by 8.7% in September compared to the previous month.
Opera, who package data by up to 90% (thus saving vital network bandwidth) is the most popular mobile internet browser. Web Analytics firm StatCounter report that Opera has 26.9% market share. Its competitors - the iPhone and Nokia browsers have 21.2% and 20.8% market share respectively.
An article published on Reuters' website says the mobile market is increasingly looking at means of converting revenue opportunities into sustainable streams - since the traditional voice market is now in decline. Where Opera gains popularity is in its ability to condense the size of the data being channelled through wireless networks - giving a cost saving of around £5 billion per annum, across the top 10 countries covered by Opera's service provision.
Data traffic rose 4.7 times last year - wireless data cards for laptops and the demand for the iPhone are major contributors to the rise in global mobile data traffic. With mobile users wanting to access more on the internet - including social networking sites, service providers will have to focus on removing the congestion on the mobile network in order for the boom to continue.
An article on the BBC's website backs up Opera's statistics - mobile analyst firm Informa predicts that mobile data traffic could rise as much as 25-fold by 2012, whilst experts at ABI Research predict monthly data traffic iin 2014 could exceed the data traffic total for the whole of 2008. In order to avoid potential jams in the future, they urge the mobile operators to take action now. The biggest problem for network providers will be funding the expansion - analysts agree that data revenues are not increasing in line with data volume, and hardware capable of handling high data rates on the next generation networks will take a while to get a firm grip on the situation.
Bytemobile is another network optimisation company - their spokesman, Graham Carey warned: "As far as users are concerned, they do not see the need to manage their consumption. The consumption rate is far outweighing the network improvement rate. There is a crunch point coming."
The majority of the growth is currently down to laptops with USB modems and PC cards - and add-on cellular modems. Further down the line, hardware will be embedded with 3G and 4G modems - which ABI Research predicts will account for over 50% of mobile data traffic. Senior analyst at ABI Research, Jeff Orr was quoted in Cellular News: "The launch of 4G services promises even more data capability - full multimedia on a greater number of devices, but it's a more pragmatic approach than 3G's: data centre devices will be adopted first, rather than a large number of phones. As network coverage and service plans satisfy market expectations, a variety of specialised consumer electronics devices with the ability to connect anywhere will emerge."
So, service provision is key and as things stand users' need for accessing the net on their mobile phones and laptops could outstrip capacity sooner than we think.
Opera, who package data by up to 90% (thus saving vital network bandwidth) is the most popular mobile internet browser. Web Analytics firm StatCounter report that Opera has 26.9% market share. Its competitors - the iPhone and Nokia browsers have 21.2% and 20.8% market share respectively.
An article published on Reuters' website says the mobile market is increasingly looking at means of converting revenue opportunities into sustainable streams - since the traditional voice market is now in decline. Where Opera gains popularity is in its ability to condense the size of the data being channelled through wireless networks - giving a cost saving of around £5 billion per annum, across the top 10 countries covered by Opera's service provision.
Data traffic rose 4.7 times last year - wireless data cards for laptops and the demand for the iPhone are major contributors to the rise in global mobile data traffic. With mobile users wanting to access more on the internet - including social networking sites, service providers will have to focus on removing the congestion on the mobile network in order for the boom to continue.
An article on the BBC's website backs up Opera's statistics - mobile analyst firm Informa predicts that mobile data traffic could rise as much as 25-fold by 2012, whilst experts at ABI Research predict monthly data traffic iin 2014 could exceed the data traffic total for the whole of 2008. In order to avoid potential jams in the future, they urge the mobile operators to take action now. The biggest problem for network providers will be funding the expansion - analysts agree that data revenues are not increasing in line with data volume, and hardware capable of handling high data rates on the next generation networks will take a while to get a firm grip on the situation.
Bytemobile is another network optimisation company - their spokesman, Graham Carey warned: "As far as users are concerned, they do not see the need to manage their consumption. The consumption rate is far outweighing the network improvement rate. There is a crunch point coming."
The majority of the growth is currently down to laptops with USB modems and PC cards - and add-on cellular modems. Further down the line, hardware will be embedded with 3G and 4G modems - which ABI Research predicts will account for over 50% of mobile data traffic. Senior analyst at ABI Research, Jeff Orr was quoted in Cellular News: "The launch of 4G services promises even more data capability - full multimedia on a greater number of devices, but it's a more pragmatic approach than 3G's: data centre devices will be adopted first, rather than a large number of phones. As network coverage and service plans satisfy market expectations, a variety of specialised consumer electronics devices with the ability to connect anywhere will emerge."
So, service provision is key and as things stand users' need for accessing the net on their mobile phones and laptops could outstrip capacity sooner than we think.
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