Opinion Piece for Skynews.com

Monday and Tuesday this week saw announcements in the UK by Orange and Vodafone that they would be distributing the Apple iPhone, ending O2’s two years of exclusivity.  Great news for the customers of these networks as the traditionally strong end-of-year season approaches.  With a swell of Google Android devices, Nokia’s latest offerings, the Palm Pre, offensives by Samsung and LG, market forerunner Blackberry, and rumours of imminent product introductions by Dell and Acer, the once niche market of the so-called smartphone has turned into a tidle wave bring the mobile internet to everyone.

Millions of UK consumers are already YouTubing on the High Street, Facebooking as they travel the train, and Twittering from the park.  But this explosion of mobile internet activity has a dark side for the very mobile operators bringing it to us.  iPhone users consume a lot more data on their devices each month that any other type of handset user, thanks to the wide array of applications available for the device.  Capacity demand on the mobile network is skyrocketing.  Subscribers are benefiting from flat rate subscriptions, so operators have to bring more and more capacity on-stream just to keep existing customers happy, never mind new ones. 

With millions more smartphone mobile internet customers coming on-stream next year at a rate faster than most analysts had projected, we’re likely to see capacity problems plaguing the mobile internet.  Already operators are requiring certain applications like Slingbox and downloads larger than 10Mb to happen over WiFi and not the 3G network.  This model of WiFi and 3G working together presents an attractive option for consumers and operators alike in avoiding a meltdown, provided the device and the service provider supports it of course.