Congestion Builds up on GPRS; WAP Blocked

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/32634.html' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/32634.html</a><br /><br /></div>"When the GPRS standard was first proposed, sceptics said that it didn't have the capacity that a serious service would need. Now, it turns out that some carriers are finding it hard to meet existing demand and are switching data services off. Asia-Pacific mobile provider Globe Telecom has attempted to limit the amount of GPRS traffic by concentrating its resources on customers which use its own WAP gateways. <br /><br />According to Inq7 news, the carrier has blocked access to wireless application protocol (WAP) sites outside of the company’s own "MyGlobe" mobile portal, blaming "network congestion." In Europe, sources inside two GPRS carriers agreed that the problem was not limited to Manila or the far East, and that service availability was 'sporadic.' "<br /><br />The rest of the article goes on to talk about how in some geographical areas, GPRS is over-saturated and customers can't get connected, or get connected at painfully slow speeds. My biggest struggle with the <a href="http://www.fido.ca">Fido network</a> isn't so much the speed, it's getting connected. I'm never quite sure whether to blame the network or the Smartphone though - but that's the subject for another post... :wink:

[Kris Kumar]

Nice Article...

Right now I am frustrated more because of spotty coverage...and the article scares me because, right now as the article says there are not many ppl in North America using GPRS...and I can see that changing in the next six months or so, phones with data/email access is becoming an attractive option for folks..And with 3G not being planned in the near future....aaaaaaaaaargh...

Kris

PS: Going by the article, I think T-Mobile is not going keep the unlimited data plan for long.

[freitasm]

Network congestion? This sounds more like they only want people inside their walled garden, so if anyone buys anything will buy from them.

[mobile]

So, if the scenario described in this article is true, then all the 3G sceptics must have been wrong when they claimed that 3G was an already obsolete standard and an unnecessary and expensive investment for operators. Obviously, despite all the nay-sayers questioning the general publics' interest in data services, people must be using wireless data, or the bandwidth would not get saturated. Also, keep in mind, most current data users are generally early adopters, which leads me to believe even more in 3G and coming generation systems.

Thus, if current technologies and modulation schemes cannot provide enough bandwidth, then the demand for 3G networks will increase dramatically over the next few years, and consequently become embraced on a large scale since bandwidth efficiency is really what 3G technology is all about. Although, in the short run, it's not good for the end user to have saturated networks that choke the throughtput, as an early adopter of data services and from a longer run and market perspective, I'm glad that this is becoming an issue, as it eventually will drive operators to realize they need to make investments in next generation systems.

Maybe it's time to be hyping 3G stocks again ... :wink:

/// mobile

[Mike Wagstaff]

I've been experiencing connection problems recently in London, and I'm by no means the only one. It's very frustrating, especially as there's nothing you can do to improve things short of complain... :(

[Kris Kumar]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=RTR&Date=20030909&ID=2850011&Symbol=US:INTC

From the article titled "New Intel chip targets fast wireless phones" the following text...

"EDGE networks are being deployed predominantly in the United States and are expected to ramp in 2004, the Santa Clara, California-based company said."


Looks like there is some hope, but the trouble is we will have to buy new phones, whenever it does happen !!