WiFi saves mobile service providers from spectrum shortage

Market research firm Infonetics has found from its latest study that up to 75% of mobile device data traffic is on WiFi, based on what mobile operators have reported to Infonetics. “Seven years ago the ITU predicted the world would need twice as much radio frequency spectrum as is allocated now, and that was even before the advent of the data-hungry iPhone. But if the ITU forecast had held true, all mobile networks with significant mobile broadband usage would have crashed by now,” reports Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research. “HSPA+ and LTE are two of the primary reasons operators have been able to squeeze more and more bits out of limited spectrum,” Téral adds. “HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE improve spectral efficiency so significantly that the need for spectrum has been greatly reduced, often by at least half. LTE technology is not only resistant to interference between cells but also spreads transmission efficiently over available spectrum. Our mobile spectrum report explores additional techniques operators are using to optimize their cellular resources without adding more spectrum and provides an alternative view to the mainstream belief that there is not enough spectrum.” Other points shared by Infonetics on mobile speed and connections: Despite the ubiquity of HSPA and EV-DO, average mobile connection sp...