Comments on: Video bandwidth--something's gotta give

The exploding demand to view videos anywhere, anytime, is stretching network technologies to the limit, warns Nortel CTO John Roese.

[rrothfeldt]

Nortel wants more BW?

Think Nortel's CEO is trying to scare infrastructure peeps into buying more of his company's new IS toys? Hmmmmm....

[thenet411]

REALLY that many? I don't think so.

Much like high speed Internet, very few people actually place any sort of demand on the data delivery capability of wireless devices. Most cell phone users talk on their phones and that's it. They might receive a text message here and there but hardly enough to strain a network. Then you have teenagers who text constantly. They text almost as much, or more, than they actually use voice! However, those text messages are extremely small and together might load the network a bit but hardly enough to cause a slowdown for the rest. But what about the PDA users? How many PDA users (not including technical workers) actually use their PDAs to surf the Internet? Very few, IMHO. They might send and receive email (yeah, like an executive that has been given a PDA knows how to remotely check their mail...HA)

Now we come to the hardcore elite. Those that use cellular networks for wireless Internet surfing on laptops and PDAs. But studies show that those users represent less than 2% of the total number of cellular users in America. When I am forced to use my Verizon PCMCIA card for my laptop because there are no WiFi hot spots around, I am hardly surfing YouTube.

IMHO, this article is a nothing more than an embattled CEO trying to make his dying company relevant. Sure, more bandwidth will be needed as mobile devices expand (and make their screens bigger!) but that time is still a while off.

[jwieser262]

Response to thenet411

Your view of how communications is changing seems rather myopic. I recall quotes from (at the time distinguished business leaders) telling us that the world only needs two super computers, or that the telephone is a fad, or that it's the hardware, not software driving value. Business and consumer demand will fuel the need for always on, always connected services, including video. You'll have the same network experience no matter where you are. After all, would you rather have 200 channels to surf on the flatscreen embedded on the headrest of your SUV, or watch the Barney DVD for the millionth time.