iPhone 4S & Siri Double Carrier Network Load

A network research firm has found that the iPhone 4S doubles the network load for data compared to the iPhone 4. New network services like Siri are the source.

In addition, “Data usage of the previous model, the iPhone 4, was only 1.6 times higher than the iPhone 3G, while iPad 2 tablets consumed 2.5 times more data than the iPhone 3G, the study showed,” according to Reuters.

In the smartphone era, wireless operators have always been just a littler shorter on bandwidth than they would like. New network services and especially Siri, which uploads the voice query to Apple servers and handles the response, continue to press the networks to the limits and have forced carriers to imposes extra charges or limitations. Even Sprint’s “unlimited” plan has limits.

Siri

This could be one reason why Apple has delayed the introduction of Siri on the iPad 2, which has the same A5 processor and iOS version the iPhone. That is, to comply with carrier requests for more time to upgrade their networks.

According to the report from the telecom network technology company, Arieso, mobile data usage has doubled each year since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Reuters reported that wireless operators are reluctant to reveal the extent of the data congestion problems that most are experiencing. LTE will help, but operators may still have to apply throttles to their heaviest users for the good of the network.