As the workforce becomes wireless so does the ... - Connect-World

Spectrum Mobile and payment capacity Mobile systemsaccess issuesAddressing the spectrum and capacity crunchby Bruce Brda, Senior VP and GM, Motorola SolutionsAs data use explodes, operators, regulators and technology vendors need to re-think migrationapproaches to new technology. Smart thinking about how to build, deploy and maintainnetworks can help mobile operators address the demand for data.Bruce Brda is senior vice president and general manager of Motorola’s networks business. Prior to this role, Mr Brda gained extensiveinternational sales and marketing experience in Motorola’s mobile devices business and was previously vice president of sales andoperations for Motorola’s infrastructure business.Bruce Brda holds a bachelor’s of science degree from Southern Illinois University and a master’s of science degree from Illinois Instituteof Technology.Mobile operators are facing a capacity crisis.The fact is we stand at an inflection point as anindustry. The way we have managed transitionsin the past and how we must manage them inthe future are two quite different processes. Asan industry, we need to revise our thinking andmanage transitions holistically. The first step is foroperators, regulators and technology vendors to rethinkmigration approaches and the way we worktogether. Here, we address this multi-dimensionalapproach with various scenarios highlighting theinteractions of these variables.Data use explodesThe extent of the data explosion is revealed bytwo major mobile operators. Orange disclosedin 2009 that USB dongle data consumption inthe UK had increased by 4,125 per cent in theprevious 12 months, while AT&T has managed asurge in data use of 5000 per cent over the lastthree years. And with applications includingsocial networking, video and interactive chatgaining in popularity, burgeoning data demandsaren’t slowing soon.By 2011, Motorola estimates that mobile operatorswill provide per month, on average, 11.1GBof data for students (up from 4.5GB), 5GB fortravelling business people (up from 2.4GB) and6GB for professionals (up from 4GB). Suchfigures indicate that degradation in performanceexperienced by some mobile operators will affectmore networks in the future. A fundamentalshift in consumer usage models is underwayand accelerating. These soaring data streams areenabling users to interact with the world in newways. Consumer usage is one of many variables inthe rapidly evolving telecommunications market.Migration strategies going forward must maintainflexibility to keep pace with this evolution.Consumer usage is just one of the variables in play.Changing appsThe popularity of apps and social networkingis one major factor behind the capacity strain.The average smartphone - even if the user is notactively using these apps - checks for messagesor status updates eight times a minute. Each ofthese checks ties up valuable spectrum resources.This repetitive behaviour is contributing toservice degradation just like the amount of datasent across 3G networks.The spectrum battleThe industry is pressing for greater accessto existing radio spectrum. For example, byreclaiming spectrum bands from the cessationof terrestrial TV service - the ‘digital dividend’.Regulators are using auctions to ensure fairallocation of spectrum. However, in some markets,the process takes time. Legal action is threateningto delay the UK’s auction, which was expected tohappen at the end of 2010.Ultimately, the promise offered by commercialservices to make broadband more available andaffordable is likely to see additional spectrumbecome available. However, given the demandsfor data, it’s critical to fully optimize spectrumuse now as well as additional spectrum that mightbecome available in the future.Off-load optionsMigration strategies in these circumstancesneed to encompass some near-term creativity. Atactic available immediately is to off-load data. Asimple way to achieve this is by using unlicencedtechnologies with mobile operators partneringwith existing Wi-Fi mobile operators, or deployingtheir own Wi-Fi networks to provide customerswith seamless connectivity to hot-spots withoutthe need to manually log-in. This convenientaccess can help remove a significant amountof nomadic data traffic from the main mobilenetworks in places where network congestionis most problematic. However, the risk of usingunlicenced spectrum could cause the operator tolose some control of the user experience whereWi-Fi congestion occurs.Another viable option in the drive to optimizecapacity is network sharing - a way for operatorsNorth America 2010 • 11