Mobile phone use ’set to rise’ during World Cup

Mobile phone usage could go through the roof during the Fifa World Cup, one expert has said.

Dr Steve Smith of Coda Research Consultancy believes people will constantly want updates about the games, which could leave mobile phone networks inundated.

“[The World Cup] will definitely lead to an increase in data usage and definitely via mobile phones,” he said. “The mobile phone is ubiquitous, because people carry them with them at all times.”

He added that the chances of networks getting too busy will depend on how far England get in the tournament.

“If England progress through the stages then there will obviously be greater demand,” he explained.

It seems like we have a choice, then, between seeing our team do well in the World Cup or being able to use our mobiles easily, free from network trouble.

Dr Smith also believes that despite a lack of enthusiasm for mobile video streaming in the past, people wanting to watch highlights on their device might cause a rise in its popularity.

However, Ed Marsden from Deloitte’s information and technology risk team has issued a warning about the strain that online viewing is likely to have.

He has likened streaming a match to downloading six albums, so if millions of people are doing this at the same time, surely there is going to be a problem?

There is also a concern that the time sensitivity of matches will lead to “substantial peaks of data consumption” and stress points for networks.

We can only hope that this awareness of a potentially saturated system has resulted in a lot of preparation from mobile phone companies.