VoIP Signaling Crashed NTT DoCoMo; Asks Google to help

    

Caroline Gabriel reports to :rethink wireless that "NTT DoCoMo has added its loud voice to the wave of operator criticism of how smartphones overload carrier networks with their 'signalling storm'. The Japanese cellco recently suffered a major outage in its network, which it is attributing specifically to an Android VoIP application, and more generally to the way Android constantly polls the network, even when users are inactive, generating huge levels of signalling traffic"

While DoCoMo goes to the source of the problem (at least one of them), there are also some ways to address the problem from the network side. Nokia Siemens Networks has been very active in this space. See "NSN: "VoIP Applications Create Huge Signaling Load" - here and "NSN: Android and Blackberry Phones Overload Networks with Signaling" - here. 

"DoCoMo, according to the Nikkei news agency, has demanded that Google rein in the signalling and data loads imposed by Android, particularly the habit of handsets transmitting control signals to the network, and pinging the servers, automatically rather than as-needed. These behaviors support constantly updated apps such as social networks, as well as the rising tide of cloud-based software, in which data and apps are held on the server and constantly sync with the device".

See "DoCoMo demands Google's help with signalling storm" - here.