It's down to networks designed for low-bandwidth voice calls. Some data provision was allowed in the original plans but the recent explosion in consumer smartphones . Whereas mobile users were once happy to visit low-bandwidth mobile versions of sites (?), nowadays we expect the full high-bandwidth experience we have at home. Why should YouTube be off-limits just because we're at the coffee shop, especially bearing in mind our mobile devices have no problem playing video?

The solution is easy in theory: Put-up more cell phone towers, increasing radio bandwidth so more devices can be served at higher speeds. However, , and erecting them----is usually expensive. And that's even if the necessary permits can be got.

A little lateral thinking leads to another solution: offering cell phone users access to public wireless Internet services, perhaps as part of their monthly package. However, hotspots are a mire of confusion and insecurity for users. Most hotspots are unsecured, , and they often rely on individuals signing in and handing over credit card details--clumsy and a hassle.

For wireless networking to take the load off cellular networks, there would need to be invisible sign-on and the automatic handing over of data requests whenever an mobile device come in range of a hotspot.

Well, the world is one step closer to this courtesy of the , the trade body that includes most if not all of the major cellular and wireless Internet vendors, along with hardware manufacturers. According to an announcement at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) Wireless 2011 trade show, the current , used to guarantee networking hardware is compatible with wireless networking standards, is to be expanded to cover hotspots--and by the first half of 2012, to boot.