Mobile broadband: congestion is inevitable
Shown is a table listing the typical bandwidth requirements for various applications.
The table is taken from a recent report by Peter Rysavy of Rysavy Research, entitled Mobile Broadband Capacity Constraints And the Need for Optimization.
The report looks at the huge growth in mobile broadband services and the resulting congestion. The report includes a nice model showing how only a few intensive users can consume much of a cell's capacity. The report also discusses how operators must continue to add wireless capacity while being a lot smarter in the bandwidth consumed by applications.
To see a copy of the report, click here
Application |
Recommended Bandwidth |
Mobile voice call |
6 kbps to 12 kbps |
Text-based e-mail |
10 to 20 kbps |
Low-quality music stream |
28 kbps |
Medium-quality music stream |
128 kbps |
High-quality music stream |
300 kbps |
Video conferencing |
384 kbps to 3 Mbps |
Entry-level, high-speed Internet |
1 Mbps |
Minimum speed for responsive Web browsing |
1 Mbps |
Internet streaming video |
1 to 2 Mbps |
Telecommuting |
1 to 5 Mbps |
Gaming |
1 to 10 Mbps |
Enterprise applications |
1 to 10 Mbps |
Standard definition TV |
2 Mbps |
Distance learning |
3 Mbps |
Basic, high-speed Internet |
5 Mbps |
High-Definition TV |
7.5 to 9 Mbps |
Multimedia Web interaction |
10 Mbps |
Enhanced, high-speed Internet |
10 to 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps emerging |
Reader Comments (2)
Is "high speed internet" an application? Web browsing is an application, HD TV is an application, the internet is a system of interconnected computers and servers - a physical thing. What applications will people run on "high-speed internet" is a question that is rarely answered well.
The previous comment is correct: "high speed Internet" is not an application. I included internet speeds in that table in my report as a reference point for the other applications listed.