February 17, 2009
Posted: 1638 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain - Cell phone manufacturers and network operators may be able to ride out the recession as consumers view their handsets as an essential rather than a luxury, but there's a potential dark cloud on the horizon for the mobile technology industry - the capacity crunch.

As our appetite for mobile internet and data services continues to grow, thanks to devices like the iPhone, mobile service providers are soon going to fiind that their networks won't cope with demand.

Too much traffic will clog the wireless highway and the networks know that they have to invest heavily in their infrastructures to head off the problem.

In the current economic downturn they'll find it hard to raise the required funds by borrowing and are reluctant to pass on the cost to consumers who are unwilling to pay more.

The most likely solutions, mobile advertising and peak time network congestion charging are also unpallatable. So there's no easy answer to this thorny issue, which is one of the main talking points here at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Watch more about the capacity crunch

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Filed under: Technology


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Andrew   February 19th, 2009 533 GMT

The current crisis knows no bounds in it's ongoing effects. Everything we do is interwined in commerce. It's what we take for granted that could be a problem. For example food. Before the economy goes pear-shaped, we should heed warnings to stock-pile at least 3 months supply. This applies to critical medicines that people need. (jwsgoldsilver.com)

Greg Atkinson   February 19th, 2009 624 GMT

Actually the solution is quite simple....fibre. Not everything needs to go "wireless" and long before there are hardware capacity issues we will simply run out of usable RF bandwidth. (and no amount of money will fix that)

Greg Atkinson
http://www.shareswatch.com.au/blog/

Sam in Spain   February 20th, 2009 1920 GMT

The Spanish Government has introduced a new Law which Vodophone have advised us. We must before November 9th go to a Vodophone office and provide them with our name, address, NIE number for registration of our phone. Talk about BIG BROTHER!!!!!!

As I think that Mobiles are pretty useless things, I may enter the contest which Nokia run where they give the winner a prize to the person who can throw their Mobile phone the furthest. GOOD IDEA

Muthyavan   February 21st, 2009 1747 GMT

Cell phones have become as an essential part in the history of human life in all parts of the world replacing all other human devices, with registered users of cell phones reaching over two billions in the world with one in every three human carrying one. With an ever growing subscribers, it has enough money and the mobile telephone technology industry is not at all affected by the world economic dawn turn, it has enough wealth and growing market to work out of the peak time network congestion and all other problems it is faced with. Research and new inventions are daily adding new new features to the cell phone industry making it as a humans master gadget capable of doing every thing a person needs to do from a quite place away from all other modern technical gadgets.

paul   February 22nd, 2009 022 GMT

I don't think if all these mobile and phone producing company are happily making profit with this current economic and financial crises. the demand for these cell phone will reduce from their customers because, there is no money in the circulation in the world. Stocks are falling radically and the people faces are filled with sadness.
Changes has to be done fastely.

Gail Ellis Duncan   February 24th, 2009 920 GMT

Uhhh, do ya think the world in general is having a capacity crunch? Like the capacity of waste and dumping? Capacity crunch on the entire environment? Hello

kcin   February 26th, 2009 049 GMT

I think it would be pointless to have that cause when your done with lift off you can have your electronics on anyway.

lezurk   February 26th, 2009 051 GMT

It would be nice cause if you need to call someone when your in the middle of lift off it could turn out really bad

Bill Bartmann   September 1st, 2009 1951 GMT

Great site...keep up the good work.

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