Smartphones offer "technical challenge" to network operators
2nd March 2010 11:05:44
Mobile operators face a "technical challenge", according to one expert, due to the added strain that smartphones are placing on their networks.
Writing in an article for statesman.com, Kirk Ladendorf has highlighted that such handsets can cause network congestion if a large number of them are used in a limited geographic space.
"Too many smartphone users in too small an area can clog a network," the writer has commented.
In his statesman.com piece, Mr Ladendorf has also noted the view of AT&T's Chris Penrose, who acts as the organisation's South Texas general manager.
Mr Penrose is reported as saying that his organisation alone has seen a 5,000 per cent rise in data traffic since 2007.
AT&T is currently trialling a femtocell device, called the MicroCell, in a number of US regions.
The technology is capable of improving the 3G and voice coverage that mobile phone users receive in indoor environments.
Picocell and femtocell information
Product overview of the nanoGSM picocell
