These days all the attention in the US wireless industry seems to be on the growth of data traffic. And yet, despite all the growth, it is voice that US mobile subscribers seem to love more than most in the world--and comparatively consume the same if not less data.

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Just after the previous blog entry, T-Mobile announced that it will make UMA available on Android phones. Actually the press release does not mention UMA: the new name for the service Wi-Fi Calling, but it is still based on Kineto's UMA solution.

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UMA extends cellular coverage to areas where only Wi-Fi is available. It allows you make and receive calls at home even if you have no cellular coverage in a completely seamless way. Surprisingly, it is not yet available for Android phones, but this may change soon.

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What if cellular data plans were not for devices but for the subscribers using them? And if multiple devices were allowed on the same plan? Could subscribers use more devices to connect and attach an higher value to their data plan?

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The wireless industry has been undoubtedly pleased by the Obama endorsement of the FCC recommendation to make an additional 500 MHz of spectrum available for wireless broadband in the United States over the next ten years. Increased spectrum availability for wireless broadband is a top requirement to accommodate data traffic growth. According to Cisco's VNI index, data traffic will grow 16 times and video traffic 20 times by 2014 wireless broadband. The introduction of new wireless interfaces like HSPA+, WiMAX or LTE will bring some relief, but may be at best capable of accommodating half of the additional traffic due to increased spectrum efficiency.

However, to keep up with data demand and to avoid massive investment, operators in the U.S. and in most other countries will need to do more than roll out an LTE network in the spectrum they currently have. Infrastructure sharing is one of the tools that operators have to increase utilization of their spectrum assets, provide better coverage and throughput to their customers, and to reduce capex and opex.

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Vertical applications are all of a sudden one of the hottest topics in wireless. No longer limited to narrowband connections to monitor truck drivers' location, they are set to create the "Internet of things" with an explosion of connected devices, from your toaster and fridge, to the largest nuclear power plant. The potential for growth is huge--for each person there are multiple devices that may eventually get connected to a wireless network.

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Is the signaling traffic from BlackBerries, iPhones, and Android smartphones creating just as much congestion in cellular networks as actual data traffic is? There is considerable disagreement among those that I talk to, and mobile operators are not too keen to share data–but it is a topic you are likely to hear more about in the future as the implications of signaling traffic in networks dominated by data traffic become better understood.

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The press room for the Windows Phone 7 announcement was packed, so I was politely turned away – and so I could see the real unveiling of Windows Phone 7, on the streets of Barcelona (in fact in front of the hotel where the press announcement was made). It was a struggle…

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See our latest article on Fierce Wireless here or read on.

Mobile data plans have started to evolve. U.S. mobile operators, under pressure from exploding traffic volume in their networks and grappling with network congestion, have recently announced new service pricing for voice and data.

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