Managing the Wireless Data Deluge

Updating the networks to handle the greater volume of wireless data could mean massive expenditures for carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, the joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone, and others in the coming years. Capital spending by major carriers in the U.S. could rise to $28.7 billion in 2011 from $19.3 billion in 2009, according to research firm IDC. That surge in spending could prove to be good news for companies that sell products and services to the wireless industry. Software companies such as Oracle and computing giant IBM, as well as smaller concerns like Camiant and Bridgewater Systems, which provide software for managing subscribers' data usage, are gunning for new opportunities to help wireless carriers better manage their networks. Software that helps carriers manage subscribers' data use can shave 10% to 20% off the cost of supporting growing data traffic, according to wireless consultant Chetan Sharma. So far, fewer than 10% of carriers have implemented so-called subscriber management software, which can tell carriers how much data particular subscribers are using, and which applications they're allowed to access.