NTT DoCoMo Asks Google To Limit Android Data Use

An anonymous reader writes "NTT DoCoMo has had enough of Android's effects on its mobile network in Japan. Following a service disruption due to Google's Android VoIP app, the company is now asking Google to look at reducing Android's data use. In particular, the amount of time allowed between control signals being sent either by official apps or 3rd party ones. Typically these occur as often as every 3 minutes, but scale that up to thousands of apps on millions of handsets and you can see the issue DoCoMo has. So, does DoCoMo need to invest more in its infrastructure, or is Android a data hog that needs reining in?"

Comments

Well that depends...

[Ragun]

If all they are asking is for Google to optimize its network usage, as the article seems to imply, go all out.

If its telling Google to try and control the amount of bandwidth the users decide to use, well, I think they are going to have a little trouble getting that done.

Re:NTT DoCoMo is the standard gold of mobile netwo

[Andy Dodd]

Considering that Google has a SERIOUS interest in making control signal intervals as long as possible for battery life purposes - if they are too often, the carriers only have themselves to blame. Too many carriers have aggressive NAT firewalls with short TCP connection timeouts, and it's much better for the handset AND the carrier to send a keepalive within that timeout period than to have to detect a dead connection and set up a new one.

Google "netpiculet" or look at my last post earlier on this article for an eye-opener of how network providers shoot themselves in the foot.

If Google is sending control signals too often - DoCoMo should take it up with the carriers that deployed broke-ass NAT boxes that forced Google to do this.