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FCC HEAD: WIRELESS SPACE RUNNING OUT
Financial Times - The head of the US Federal Communications Commission warned hat there is not enough room in the airwaves for the "explosion" in wireless data traffic, setting the stage for a big realignment of spectrum usage as the government tries to help mobile carriers keep up with consumer demand.
"The biggest threat to the future of mobile in America is the looming spectrum crisis," said Julius Genachowski, the Obama administration appointee who took over as head of the five-member FCC in late June.
Mr Genachowski noted that what had been seen as a big auction of spectrum last year helped cap a three-fold surge in the amount of commercial spectrum available.
"The problem is, many anticipate a 30-fold increase in wireless traffic," he said at the CTIA wireless industry convention in San Diego. . .
As an indicator of the bottleneck ahead, AT&T has been overwhelmed with a 5,000 per cent increase in wireless data consumption in three years, driven by the minority of customers who own Apple's iPhone. For now, AT&T is the exclusive US carrier for that device.
"We're seeing a disproportionate number of users driving consumption," Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility president, said at the conference.
"If we don't find a way to keep them from crowding out others, we're going to have a very significant issue."
Mr de la Vega said the top 3 per cent of its smartphone customers were responsible for 40 per cent of data usage, consuming 13 times more than the average smartphone user. With new smartphones that have software from Google and others coming, and the prospects of wider distribution of broadband-enabled notebook PCs, the demands for connectivity will continue to jump geometrically.
"AT&T is the canary in the coal mine," Ms Arbogast said.
"The biggest threat to the future of mobile in America is the looming spectrum crisis," said Julius Genachowski, the Obama administration appointee who took over as head of the five-member FCC in late June.
Mr Genachowski noted that what had been seen as a big auction of spectrum last year helped cap a three-fold surge in the amount of commercial spectrum available.
"The problem is, many anticipate a 30-fold increase in wireless traffic," he said at the CTIA wireless industry convention in San Diego. . .
As an indicator of the bottleneck ahead, AT&T has been overwhelmed with a 5,000 per cent increase in wireless data consumption in three years, driven by the minority of customers who own Apple's iPhone. For now, AT&T is the exclusive US carrier for that device.
"We're seeing a disproportionate number of users driving consumption," Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility president, said at the conference.
"If we don't find a way to keep them from crowding out others, we're going to have a very significant issue."
Mr de la Vega said the top 3 per cent of its smartphone customers were responsible for 40 per cent of data usage, consuming 13 times more than the average smartphone user. With new smartphones that have software from Google and others coming, and the prospects of wider distribution of broadband-enabled notebook PCs, the demands for connectivity will continue to jump geometrically.
"AT&T is the canary in the coal mine," Ms Arbogast said.
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