The Internet is Nearly Out of Bandwidth

pokeplayer984 · **on:** June 15, 2012, 08:53:14 PM

I didn't want to alarm anyone, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuqmKg6QQTw&feature=g-u-u

Yeah, we're in trouble here.

Any thoughts on how to fix this problem?

We really don't want restriction to become the answer. -_-

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #1 on:** June 15, 2012, 09:03:36 PM

Can't the bandwidth just be expanded?

vonboy · **Reply #2 on:** June 15, 2012, 10:19:05 PM

I don't really understand what he means by this. Does he mean we're running out of frequencies?

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #3 on:** June 15, 2012, 10:57:55 PM

Well, if we're running out of space, there are millions of dead sites that can be wiped away and no one would care.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #4 on:** June 15, 2012, 11:45:52 PM

Personally I'm not really concerned.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #5 on:** June 16, 2012, 12:14:04 AM

Me neither. We have several options to work with. Hell, if we employ more than one we could practically give ourselves almost infinite net space.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #6 on:** June 16, 2012, 01:52:57 AM

I really couldn't care less. And it's not the "internet" that's running out of bandwidth but mobile devices. Since I don't really have a use for mobile BS this won't affect me at all. I'll still be happily enjoying my master computer while the rest of the world is whining about cell phone apps that won't work anymore because there isn't any bandwidth left. Sucks for you guys.

jansenov · **Reply #7 on:** June 16, 2012, 04:15:44 AM

Quote from: vonboy, Jun 16 2012 on 04:19 AM

I don't really understand what he means by this. Does he mean we're running out of frequencies?

Yes. It was bound to happen sooner or latter. Radiowaves are the prefered spectrum for wireless communication because of the low energy necessary to produce them and wide area they cover, and the ease by which they penetrate most materials. They are the only electromagnetic spectrum suitable for wireless communication on Earth's surface. Their flaw is that they can't carry much information and there are physical limits to increasing the sensitivity of receivers.

And the authors of the video are uninformed or lying if they say that radiowave oversaturation is an unforeseen problem. I at least I have known about it for 10 years, ever since I started reading computer magazines. It was mentioned as a problem in a different context, that of hazardous effects of radiowaves on human health. And I suspect people have been thinking about oversaturation ever since Tesla invented the radio a century ago.

The solution is to limit the range of radio signal and build a denser network of radio transmitters in large cities (WLAN everywhere perhaps?), or restrict the amount of data transmitted, and leave the heavy duty work to optical cables.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #8 on:** June 16, 2012, 08:48:59 AM

Quote

I really couldn't care less. And it's not the "internet" that's running out of bandwidth but mobile devices. Since I don't really have a use for mobile BS this won't affect me at all. I'll still be happily enjoying my master computer while the rest of the world is whining about cell phone apps that won't work anymore because there isn't any bandwidth left. Sucks for you guys.

That seemed kinda harsh. Was there really a need to say that?

jansenov · **Reply #9 on:** June 16, 2012, 11:36:25 AM

^He was honest. And a lesson can be drawn from it as well. It says: Don't get your self too attached to any form of technology. All technology will eventually reach its limits, and the more complex a technology is, the more knowledge and resources it needs (just think of all the skills, mines and factories necessary to transform various coloured (or transparent) rocks into a CPU, and to maintain that system regardless of how many CPUs it produces), the more likely it will be abandoned in a major crisis, regardless of how useful or efficient it is.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #10 on:** June 16, 2012, 11:38:32 AM

Edit: I just didn't like the way he worded it. Plus, the regular internet could also run into problems as well, not just mobile. As the saying goes, nothing lasts forever.

jansenov · **Reply #11 on:** June 16, 2012, 11:46:45 AM

^I agree. And the lesson applies to him, and me, and everybody else as well.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #12 on:** June 16, 2012, 11:47:43 AM

Post removed.

Above post fixed due to a misreading error.

Kor · **Reply #13 on:** June 16, 2012, 11:11:21 PM

They may do bandwidth caps, I guess many isp's have, where they charge if you go over. I assume they will eventually get the technology to fix this, but I've no idea how long it may take to fix. The new way may be with everyone having caps where if you go over you pay increasingly expensive extra fees. or if the problem gets bad it may be where the caps may be more iron clad where it's hard or impossible to go over.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #14 on:** June 17, 2012, 12:44:12 PM

Well, seeing as how this is coming from some guy on Youtube and not an official news source, I'm gonna call BS on the whole thing.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #15 on:** June 17, 2012, 01:11:07 PM

Quote from: F-14 Ace,Jun 17 2012 on 10:44 AM

Well, seeing as how this is coming from some guy on Youtube and not an official news source, I'm gonna call BS on the whole thing.

Unfortunately, I know the guy too well. In all truth, something like this, he takes rather seriously. In my 4 years of knowing him, I know he would NEVER joke about something like this.

So yeah, sad to say, we are running out of bandwidth in the air.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #16 on:** June 17, 2012, 01:14:18 PM

Just because he's not joking doesn't mean that he's right. There is a chance that he could be wrong.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #17 on:** June 17, 2012, 03:50:11 PM

It sounds like the typical "OMG there is this (insert massively overblown crisis here) and the only way to fix it is to A. limit use of (insert item or service here) or B. increase the cost of using (insert item or service here)."

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if service providers are making the whole thing up just as an excuse to hike up prices on people. Either pay more for the service or we'll limit how much you can use it.

jansenov · **Reply #18 on:** June 18, 2012, 07:32:43 AM

The physical limits to the amount of information that can be transmitted over a given area in a given period of time are real. More info can be found in posts and comments on this page.

When will we reach these limits? If data usage grows exponentially, dense urban areas will hit the ceiling in less than a decade. The Federal Communications Commission, the agency that regulates EM spectrum usage in the USA, predicted in 2010 that bandwidth limit will be reached by 2015.

Does this mean the end of wireless communication? Of course not. It just means that watching videos and playing games over mobible Internet will be considered a luxury, not a necessity. Calling people, sending SMS, reading emails and posting on forums will probably never be restricted.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #19 on:** June 18, 2012, 08:27:54 AM

I rarely watch videos over mobile internet anyway. Youtube is very slow and so far only played one video, which was one of my own. I download games sometimes but from the market. I don't know if that counts as "playing games over the internet".