Mobile Broadband Strategies

Many mobile device users know the pain of waiting for a Web page to load (roughly around 9.2 seconds in the U.S.). Google is trying to speed up the process for users, and the search engine giant is also hoping to bring in more revenue from e-commerce and online advertising, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

 

Web connection can slow for a variety of reasons, including the carriers’ network and because a Web page wasn’t designed to load quickly onto mobile browsers. Google is hoping to cut page loading time in half, giving consumers more incentive to stay on a site or continue making their purchase. Google is changing its mobile browser to address slow-loading problems, and it’s also working with other companies to change how basic Internet technologies work. It’s estimated that mobile-commerce sales could increase by 10 percent in the U.S., or approximately U.S.$600 million per year, with faster mobile speeds.

 

Yankee Group Senior Analyst Rich Karpinski comments

 

“While carrier networks would seem to be the culprit when it comes to the problem of mobile Web pages loading too slowly, the reality is it's really less about the network and more about the mobile Web—less about the rails and more about the payload. Native mobile apps help a bit, of course, but too few mobile Web sites today optimize for mobile delivery by embracing HTML 5 or other mobile-friendly technologies. Mobile Web sites and browsers also needlessly spawn multiple IP signaling sessions, which taxes the network—and slows overall site performance—as much if not more than raw bandwidth requests. Google has important contributions to make in these areas, but it won't be alone and won't deliver a magic pill. That said, such advances are an absolutely critical enabler of mobile commerce, which requires fast response time if retailers are to avoid the abandoned shopping carts that once plagued the desktop Web.”