Apple’s Siri brings more traffic to networks

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apples-siri-uses-three-times-more-data-than-earlier-iphones/2012/01/06/gIQAi9YpfP_story.html

Siri, the sultry-voiced do-it-all software assistant for the iPhone 4S, might be responsible for a flood of traffic hitting wireless networks.

That could pose problems for consumers constrained by monthly data limits and wireless carriers trying to prevent dropped calls and sluggish service under the weight of smartphones and tablets.

Apple’s latest iPhone 4S is using three times as much data as the previous version, according to a study by networking software firm Arieso. Users of other devices such as the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy are also accessing the Internet more often to watch videos, browse sites and stream music.

But the iPhone 4S, whose biggest improvement was the introduction of voice-command service Siri, is turning consumers into extreme Internet users, according to Arieso. And Siri’s effect highlights the potential conflict between carriers, which want to limit customers’ access to their increasingly burdened networks, and Silicon Valley innovators, who want to feed new products to the Web-consuming public.

That's because the service makes it easier to use the Internet more often. To find a sushi restaurant nearby, a smartphone user typically has to fire up an app, type a search request and scroll through results. With Siri, that search is done by simply asking: “Find me a sushi place nearby.” And because of the way Siri operates, people are constantly online as the service roams the Internet to find answers.

The service might be easier for consumers but can be harder on networks, analysts say. With all major wireless carriers offering Apple’s iPhone, they all risk the kind of congestion that frustrated early iPhone users on AT&T, Apple’s first network partner.

Verizon said Friday that it sold 4.2 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, more than double its iPhone sales in the third quarter. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

That could specifically mean a better shot at legislation passing this February, attached to a payroll tax cut bill, that would free up airwaves for auction, Gallant said.