Helping Hands for Broadband

As smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices gobble up ever-bigger portions of available bandwidth, wireless-service providers are turning to outside technology companies to help find ways to either boost capacity or lighten the load on their systems. For wireless carriers, the growth in mobile broadband represents an opportunity for revenue growth at a time when traditional phone revenue is dwindling as customers "cut the cord" on land lines. But the rapid-adoption smartphones and tablet computers that browse the Internet, play mobile video and download software applications tax their systems.

The congestion leads to longer wait times and lower quality for Web surfers, ticking off customers. The data crunch will only get worse. The success of Apple's iPad has spawned a wave of other tablet computers, and smartphones are now ubiquitous. Meanwhile, Internet sticks -- thumb-sized gizmos that plug into laptops for wireless Web surfing -- are gaining in popularity, and consumers increasingly want high-bandwidth video on their portable devices. Mobile-broadband use is growing "a lot faster than anybody anticipated some years ago," says Anders Langkilde, product manager at TDC. "The challenge is the capacity, and having to increase the capacity in the right places."

TDC A/S, a Denmark mobile operator, turned to Birdstep Technology ASA, a Norwegian company, to help ease the data overload. Essentially, the technology reaches out to users and urges them to temporarily switch away from the broadband network to Wi-Fi hot spots whenever possible, promising faster speeds as an incentive.

Other companies offer systems to compress video, reducing the amount of bandwidth it needs. Another product on the market cuts down in the amount of unnecessary requests for data made to networks for updates.

(Aug 25)