Over 500 000 expected visitors to South African shores during the 2010 Fifa World Cup will dramatically increase traffic on the local mobile networks, says consulting and advisory firm Deloitte.
Smartphones are specifically expected to add to the problem, as they are used to surf the Internet, stream video and make VOIP calls. Deloitte says this comes at a time when smartphones are already increasing congestion.
During the World Cup, SA is going to experience an increased bottleneck in its mobile networks, the consulting company warns. “With nearly 600 million mobile broadband connections, 2010 could see the wireless equivalent of a gridlock,” Deloitte adds.
Danie Crowther, partner at Deloitte, says this prediction for 2010 has been largely shaped by the consequences of digitisation and mobile data. “The growing importance of mobile searches is expected to generate fierce competition among search providers.
“Handset-makers, specifically of smartphones, that adopt technologies to reduce network usage relative to competitors, will see an advantage. However, without action, techniques such as metered pricing and traffic management may be necessary.”
Crowther says mobile searches will dominate the strategic direction of the smartphone market in the year ahead, with search becoming one of the five most-used smartphone applications by year-end 2010.
To the rescue
It says the telecoms technologies that can make existing wireless networks perform better should experience stronger growth than other IT spending areas. Leading pure-play companies in this area should see year-on-year growth approaching 100%, with the average company expected to grow by 30% to 40%, the consulting firm says.
Areas thought to benefit from addressing the congestion problem are hardware and software focusing on policy management, compression, streaming and caching technologies.
Leaner, greener
The recession, electricity prices and capacity will also have a major impact on the telecoms industry, the company predicts. “They will force operators to focus on lean and green technologies.”
According to Deloitte, in 2010 the global telecoms sector will focus heavily on reducing CO2 emissions, with cost control being the common driver in developed and developing countries.
”Operators with fixed and mobile operations should consider the merits of shifting voice and data traffic between fixed and mobile networks to reduce overall energy costs, in addition to considering how metered broadband usage might discourage excessive network usage.”
Reliable network technology could also translate into reducing emissions generated by maintenance teams. “Equipment manufacturers should continue to improve network efficiency, while adapting innovations in power efficiency of mobile phones to network components,” Deloitte advises.
Device manufacturers and the mobile industry should continue to strive to reduce emissions with initiatives such as turning-off chargers and a single standard for chargers, it adds.
Deloitte says the electricity capacity and expected future electricity tariffs in SA make this an even bigger priority than purely a cost or environmental matter. “Local network owners are expected to invest heavily in the next year to increase capacity through the replacement and additional roll-out of energy-efficient base stations, even beyond the World Cup,” the company adds.
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