BEAVERTON, Ore. - eTradeWire -- As the global technology community returns from Barcelona, which hosted the Mobile Word Congress 2025 conference, a significant amount of discussion revolved around how the rapid rise in mobile video consumption is straining network infrastructure. This is making the adoption of more efficient video compression technologies an urgent priority, according to Aytac Biber, Director of Product at Qualcomm and a board member of the Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF).

In a recent interview for journalists, Biber emphasized that mobile networks are approaching a breaking point due to exponential growth in video traffic. He cited industry forecasts predicting that video will account for 82% of all mobile data traffic by 2025, a major increase from 60% in 2019.

"Consumers are not just watching anymore—they're creating and sharing videos at an unprecedented rate," Biber said. "With ever increasing demand for more visual entertainment and communication, we are heading towards a serious network capacity challenge in the future if we don't take preventive actions."

The Growing Strain on Mobile Networks

Biber pointed to spectrum scarcity as one major challenge. Video traffic accounted for 73% of total mobile data traffic in 2023 and is expected to exceed 80% by 2029, with short-form video platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels driving much of this growth. GSMA has also highlighted that even in cities with 5G deployment, network congestion remains a concern due to the rapid pace of video traffic growth.

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Mobile networks rely on their limited spectrum to transmit data, and demand is quickly outpacing capacity. He referenced concerns raised by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), warning that we may have a deficit in the near future without changes in spectrum allocation and network efficiency. Operators have already made massive investments in spectrum and infrastructure. However, without adopting efficient video compression, even these investments may not be enough.

"The situation is like adding lanes to a highway, only to see traffic increase even faster," Biber explained. "Despite significant investments with spectrum and infrastructure, mobile networks could be struggling to keep pace with demand."

A primary pain point is last-mile congestion, which refers to the final stretch of data delivery from mobile networks to consumers' devices. Studies indicate that 70% of video buffering issues originate from last-mile congestion, rather than core infrastructure limitations. Urban areas, where network traffic is dense, and rural regions -- with less developed infrastructure -- face particularly significant challenges.

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