IntelliNet: Femtocell Solutions

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Mobile Data Offload for 3G Networks

The Growth and the Overload

Data made its foray in cellular networks around 2002 with 2.5G networks. The initial uptake of these GPRS and CDMA-1xRTT networks was slow. There was little that could be done with clunky voice-centric handsets and lack of data services. It took a Blackberry to change that. Ubiquitous email had begun to whet the consumer’s appetite for a service beyond voice. Four years later data growth was on its way to hit an inflection point. But the data deluge was just beginning. The iPhone exposed consumers to mobile internet and rich data services such as mobile video. Within a quick span of a couple of years, the operators scrambled to roll out 3G networks to support this infrastructure.

Engineering cellular networks is no trivial task. It requires years of planning for spectrum use, radio and infrastructure. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) design their networks judiciously. These networks are engineered to deliver not only for current needs but with anticipated growth projections as well. For several years voice and SMS were the cutting edge services and scaling the network to subscriber growth was a well-understood task. Mobile data has been a recent phenomenon. The growth projections anticipated limited data services over conventional mobile devices. Smart-phones radically changed that. The nature of data transformed from text in emails, chat and photo exchange. Subscribers now had an easy access to streaming media for video and audio. Subscriber growth coupled with ownership of smart-phones compounds this further. The networks which could easily withstand a garden-hose flow of data are now being subjected to a pressure from a fireman’s hose.

The following figure compares the growth of data relative to voice services in the North American networks. Packet data has put nine times more load than voice services. Interestingly the two inflection points for data can be traced to the release of the iPhone (July 07) and iPhone 3G (July 08).

Source: Rysavy Research

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