Mobile data networks are too dispersed

MOBILE CHIPMAKER Qualcomm has warned that speed increases in mobile data technology need to be propped up by denser networks.

Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs said at the CTIA show in San Diego that the wireless industry is already pushing the limits of technology to increase mobile web speeds over the wireless airwaves.

He said that the radio wave has been about as optimised as it is going to get and cannot get faster.

Any future speed increases will come from operators using a lot more network hardware than in today's networks.

Jacobs believes that the future will be femtocells, or short range networks in subscribers' homes and offices.

He said that he can get eight to 10 times improvement in user experience by building up a dense network and managing the interference between the large scale wireless network and these femto networks. µ