Seybold's Take: Smart developers will write apps that are frugal with data

We all know that unlimited data plans will soon be a thing of the past. AT&T stopped offering its unlimited data plan to customers last year, and Verizon Wireless ended its all-you-can-eat data plan earlier this month. The move is intended to help them manage the huge increase in demand for data services. Sprint continues to offer unlimited plans, but at some point, I believe it will also have to fold. All across the world data pricing is largely based on usage. Smart developers can use this to their advantage, and if marketed correctly, it can help give them an advantage over competing applications.

It is possible to write wireless-friendly applications. Applications should not rely on the signaling channel for data updates (the signaling channels on networks are already becoming congested), nor should applications be designed so they are "chatty," that is, sending and receiving data between the device and the cloud or other data source too often. Many developers of mobile software come out of a wired world where applications communicate via a wired LAN or the wired Internet, so their view is that sufficient bandwidth will always be there. However, this will not be the case moving forward. Learning to write applications that are frugal with the data exchanges between the device and the network for wireless will pay off for developers who also write for the wired Internet world.

There is nothing wrong with writing some applications that update only when the user commands it to; not all applications have to push and pull information updates every few minutes. It is also OK to send a short burst of data notifying the device that there are updates but to hold these updates until the user is ready to read them, especially on the higher-speed wireless broadband networks when it only takes a few seconds to transfer the data. If developers could cut the number of data exchanges required between the device and the cloud or server by 50 percent, users would be able to save money on data charges, and the developer would have bragging rights for being smart enough to build intelligent wireless applications.

It would also be fairly easy to tell a user how much data to download or upload at any given point in time. While this may seem like overkill, I believe that in addition to pay-as-you-use data pricing we will also see additional constraints on data usage including time-of-day charges. For example, it makes sense for the operators at some point to place a surcharge on large data transfers that are made during the day, but to permit these exchanges overnight for free. Therefore, it might be smart to write an application able to queue up requests for data and send that data later in the day or overnight. Not all data needs to be delivered right now.

Before wireless broadband services, data waited until we were back at our desk or connected to a wired pipe. Then we were able to send and receive data almost no matter where we were or what time it was. This has given us all a sense of urgency that we did not have before, and perhaps this urgency will be tempered by the difference in data pricing we now face. Perhaps customers will now have to decide what is urgent and what can wait, and developers that know how to help them with applications which offer different options for data transfers will became not only the customers' friend but a trusted partner for that customer.

Compression is also a way to cut down on the amount of data that is sent over the air, but not many applications include really good data compression. Compression can reduce the payload, depending on the application, by as much as 50 percent. Data formatting is also an important part of the equation to consider. Yes, it is nice to stream HD videos, but is the additional cost of receiving HD quality video as opposed to standard video worth it? In recent work performed in conjunction with public safety, we found that video bandwidth ranges from 200 Kbps to more than 5 Mbps for HD video. Considering that medium resolution video downloaded to a laptop consumes about 1 Mbps and an HD video consumes 5 Mbps, customers will have to start making trade-offs based on the cost of data delivery.

With data demand growing at more than 2,000 percent year over year, we won't be returning to all-you-can-eat data pricing anytime soon. Thus, making applications smarter, helping customers decide how much data they consume and when, and compressing data where it can be done all make sense for wireless today and for both wireless and wired connections in the near future. We have better and higher resolution screens, video and still cameras, more memory, faster processors and all of the things that seem to indicate that can use all of these to our advantage. However, the choke point for wireless is the network and its capability to deliver as much data as we need all of the time at a price we can afford. Developers can help by writing more intelligent and more wireless-friendly applications.

Andrew M. Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide. www.andrewseybold.com.