The company says that the unveiling of Apple’s new iCloud service, along with other recent launches of cloud services from Amazon and Google, reflects the growing trend to store media and other content on-line and make it available to users across all of their connected devices.
However, cloud-based services will put more strain on already struggling wireless networks, says Cambridge Wireless, the independent wireless business and technology community.
Combined with the rapid growth in smartphones, tablets and other data-rich connected devices, the new generation of cloud services will accelerate demand for mobile broadband and drive the need for changes in the wireless industry.
With consumers increasingly embracing mobile broadband services and little indication that they are willing to fund directly their growing data usage, leading speakers from the likes of Qualcomm Incorporated, BBC, Broadcom, Deutsche Telekom, Huawei, Iridium, Nokia, Microsoft, Ofcom, Reliance and Three, will shed light on the strategies needed to restructure mobile broadband value chains and the next generation wireless technologies and infrastructures.
“While key industry players plan to mitigate the problem by ensuring that the most data-intensive activities are done over Wi-Fi instead of a carrier's wireless network, people will still want to access and download their video, music, photos and apps wherever they are,” said Peter Whale, a board member of Cambridge Wireless and director of Product Management for Qualcomm.
“It is clear that there needs to be a step change in how the industry responds to significant growth in data usage, but there is no silver bullet – the solution will be a combination of approaches including the roll-out of new technologies such as multicarrier HSPA+, LTE and Femtocells; new spectrum allocation, off-load onto Wi-Fi; along with the more efficient design of mobile apps and scheduling bulk data downloads during off-peak periods.”