by Chloe Albanesius
Will Apple's new iPad tablet create network mayhem? Two Federal Communications Commission officials have some concerns, and are likening the possible logjam to traffic issues that confronted AOL in the 1990s.
"Apple's iPad announcement has set off a new round of reports of networks unburdened by a data flow they were not built to handle," Phil Bellaria, director of scenario planning for broadband, and John Leibovitz, deputy chief of the FCC's wireless telecom bureau, wrote in a Monday blog post. "These problems are reminiscent of the congestion dialup users experienced following AOL's 1996 decision to allow unlimited Internet use."
The increased use of smartphones, 3G netbooks, and in the coming months, the iPad "demonstrate that wireless broadband will be a hugely important part of the broadband ecosystem as we move ahead," they wrote.
Will Apple's new iPad tablet create network mayhem? Two Federal Communications Commission officials have some concerns, and are likening the possible logjam to traffic issues that confronted AOL in the 1990s.
"Apple's iPad announcement has set off a new round of reports of networks unburdened by a data flow they were not built to handle," Phil Bellaria, director of scenario planning for broadband, and John Leibovitz, deputy chief of the FCC's wireless telecom bureau, wrote in a Monday blog post. "These problems are reminiscent of the congestion dialup users experienced following AOL's 1996 decision to allow unlimited Internet use."
The increased use of smartphones, 3G netbooks, and in the coming months, the iPad "demonstrate that wireless broadband will be a hugely important part of the broadband ecosystem as we move ahead," they wrote.
AOL solved its problem by upgrading modems and servers, and wireless providers can do the same, but only if they have adequate spectrum, Bellaria and Leibovitz wrote.
The national broadband plan currently in the works at the FCC "will suggest ways of moving more spectrum into high value uses, such as broadband access, to help ensure that we don't get stuck in 1997 dialup-style congestion," they said.
"With the iPad pointing to even greater demand for mobile broadband on the horizon, we must ensure that network congestion doesn't choke off a service that consumers clearly find so appealing or frustrate mobile broadband's ability to keep us competitive in the global broadband economy," the duo concluded.
The stimulus package passed in early 2009 ordered the FCC to deliver a national broadband plan to Congress by February 2010. The commission was recently granted a two-month extension after the commission said it needed more time to sort through submitted comments and information gathered at public hearings.
