P2P set to cause 3G meltdown

Peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic that consumes as much bandwidth as is available, resulting in saturated networks and poor quality of service, has the potential to devastate future third-generation (3G) networks, industry watchers have warned.

The warning comes as a song-swapping service that allows music lovers to download songs directly onto their mobile phones is unveiled.

Although the creator of the technology behind the offering, Beep Science AS, has conceded that its service is more suited to higher bandwidth, 3G environments, the company says it currently allows MMS phones to send and receive music using a restricted P2P network.

But with network capacity limited, 3G operators may well not be able to deal with the potential glut of P2P traffic downloads, cautioned Bryn Teasdale, director EMEA at IP service control firm P-Cube.

"The potential for problems is enormous should the technology continue to develop in this area," he said.

"As 3G operators broaden their services to include messaging, browsing, gaming and now P2P applications, it is vitally important they plan ahead, investing in the ability to manage and control IP services on a per-application basis.

"This will enable them to extract maximum revenues for P2P traffic while managing and shaping bandwidth to safeguard the quality of service for standard voice and more profitable premium content services."