Carriers Try Software for Data Flood

Facing a deluge of Web and video traffic that is pushing the limits of their networks, big wireless carriers are resorting to software shortcuts and other tricks to streamline data traffic until they install more cellular towers and roll out next-generation networks.

Armed with advanced devices like BlackBerrys, iPhones and Apple Inc.'s coming iPad, more customers are using cellular networks to surf the Web, watch video clips and run apps. While the data traffic means a new and growing source of revenue, managing that rapid growth has been challenging. "The networks weren't designed with this in mind," says Fabricio Martinez, a director at telecommunications consultancy Aircom International Ltd. In the U.S., AT&T Inc. has been at the forefront of the data explosion, primarily because it offers the popular iPhone, which can surf the Web and run applications. In the last three years, the carrier says its data traffic has grown nearly 50-fold.