Mobile carriers in a conundrum as data traffic grows

The Swedish Mobile technology company, Ericsson, reported at the recent CTIA 2010 conference that data traffic has now surpassed voice traffic on mobile networks worldwide. The really surprising thing about this is that this growth occurs despite the rather dismal state of data service on mobile networks. Let’s face it, mobile data capabilities are still, in almost all parts of the world, limited by service, limited by usage quotas, and limited by high costs. The limits imposed by carriers on data service is hardly surprising when you consider that voice is their real cash cow, as the Ericsson presenters stated. It’s a bit of a conundrum for carriers – do they stick with voice, the old-skool cash cow, or do they pursue data, where the growth is. Sounds like it’s time for mobile carriers to start thinking about some real innovation rather than promising me access to college basketball games while I ride the bus.