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CELLULAR PHONE SERVICE O2 confirmed that its mobile data network has been stuffed up thanks to the Iphone and the Blackberry.

O2 CEO Ronan Dunne told Reuters that the performance of the O2 network had been disappointing since this summer and the problem has been caused because the outfit has been unable to cope with the increasing number of mobile apps running on devices such as the Iphone.

He said that the telco was working with Apple, RIM, and other handset manufacturers to learn more about which applications are causing the heavy demands on O2 network.  O2 has also jacked up capacity on the network in recent months.

This statement is interesting because it implies that the pressure on the network is not caused by smartphone users downloading so much as regular traffic from certain smartphone applications.

O2 will have to move fast if it wants to solve the problem.  The outfit's parent company Telefonica bought mobile VoIP company Jajah to add to O2's portfolio of services.  VoIP services eat through bandwidth like an alien goes through a deep space astronaut who was looking for the cat.

The problems mirror those in the US where AT&T's network problems have been fodder for Verizon's marketing.  O2 had quite a good network which suggests that if Verizon was faced with that much smartphone traffic it could also be in trouble.

Source:-   TheInquirer (http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1567082/iphone-blackberry-break-o2-network).