AT&T battles data traffic

AT&T is considering ways to encourage customers to use less wireless data as its network struggles to keep up with demand, reports The New York Times.

“What we are seeing in the US today in terms of smartphone penetration, 3G data, nobody else is seeing in the rest of the planet,” says Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive for mobility and consumer markets at AT&T. “The amount of growth and data that we are seeing in wireless data is unprecedented.”

AT&T is the exclusive US carrier for the iPhone. Vega cites that 40% of AT&T's data traffic comes from just 3% of its smartphone customers.

In a bid to fend off telecoms like AT&T and Verizon, Cox Communications has introduced its own wireless services in a few test markets, reports InformationWeek.

The cable company is using its portion of the 700-MHz spectrum it won in an FCC auction to provide the service. A roaming agreement with Sprint Nextel means subscribers will have cellular service outside of Cox areas.

Cox will be able to offer 'quadruple play' where customers buy their home phone, Internet, cable, and mobile phone service from a single provider. The company's mobile service will initially include voice, but Cox plans to offer mobile data and mobile video in the future.

AT&T says it reached an agreement with Silver Spring Networks where the operator would deliver 3G wireless communication services to utility customers of Silver Spring around the US, reports Softpedia.

The new agreement moves the company in the direction of expanding its reach in the M2M (machine-to-machine) communications space.

“We are thrilled to be working with Silver Spring and its growing number of successful deployments, as we continue to expand our smart grid solutions that enable utilities to utilise wireless technology as backhaul for customer data,” says Chris Hill, vice-president of mobility product management at AT&T Business Solutions.

“AT&T is providing utilities with an economically compelling carrier network they can rely on for monitoring energy use and managing consumption.”