While social networking continues to explode and consumers transfer their daily Web habits to the mobile phone, there is a struggle simmering in the background for network operators to keep up with the demand. Carriers are especially feeling the impact of mobile video content’s speedy growth and the zealous use of it by subscribers around the globe.

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Industry analysts predict by 2014, video will make up 66% of all mobile data traffic.1 This certainly isn’t surprising when you consider that the expected number of global mobile video/TV users will jump from approximately 250 million in 2010 to about 450 million in 2014.2 

This is just a small sampling of industry research and analysis that points to consumers’ unquenchable thirst for mobile video. In part this desire is driven by the wave of new video-enabled mobile devices, video has redefined mobile networks and placed a premium on bandwidth—a demand the current networks can’t support.

On the horizon is 4G, marketed as the miracle cure for data congestion. Some consider it a band-aid solution, while others see it as a universal panacea. Yet the reality is that mobile carriers are seeking solutions today to deal with the expanding mobile Internet and, more specifically, the increasing use of mobile-video applications.

Patrick Lopez, chief operating officer at Vantrix, holds an MBA in corporate management and a bachelor’s degree in marketing strategy. He sits on the executive steering committee of dotmobi and chairs its multimedia working group.

There is certainly no magic bullet. But with a combined approach, involving the adjustment of both carrier infrastructure and content delivery strategies, the industry will be able to curb the skyrocketing network-congestion problem.

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