Can Mobile Operators Afford to Keep Up With the Demand for Bandwidth?
Even in the face of a global economic meltdown, wireless technology has been an unqualified success. Energy-efficient microprocessors power mobile devices that let people share words, sounds, and images–and tap into a world of entertainment–almost anywhere. But the success of these smart phones, e-readers, and tablets challenges the telecommunications companies that must provide connectivity for a device long after the store receipt for it has been lost.
These businesses are now spending billions of dollars upgrading infrastructure to handle the traffic, buying new radio spectrum licenses, and deploying next-generation broadband technologies, such as WiMax and LTE (see “Feeding the Bandwidth Beast” ), that make better use of the portions of the spectrum the companies already own.
Wireless operators hope this will satisfy the appetite of data-hungry subscribers. However, experience suggests that unless constraints are imposed, that appetite will simply expand to consume the new bandwidth, leaving operators right back where they started (see “Making Wireless like Wired”). In the United States, this problem has already forced AT&T, which is the national carrier for the iPhone, to stop offering unlimited data plans to new subscribers. Some think the only way to guarantee that data hogs won’t crowd out, say, someone simply trying to make a phone call will be to introduce pricing based on the type of traffic, so that those wanting to stream high-quality video would pay a premium. Such a practice might not be allowed, however, if government regulations enshrine the principle of network neutrality in wireless systems (see “Should the Airwaves Be Neutral?”), and it’s likely that the shape of mobile networks in this decade will owe as much to deals done in national legislatures as to any technical innovation.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.