Shares of Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI) are up more than 15% after the company said Sprint has chosen its Mobile Network Director client to provide traffic management for its networks. The software moves users from 3G to WiFi, WiMAX, or LTE as needed, and is meant to allow the carrier to provide uninterrupted service at maximum speeds in congested areas.
Smith Micro says that when carriers use connectivity software to offload traffic, better user experience and more efficient use of bandwidth are not the only benefits. In an exclusive interview with RCR Wireless News, Marketing VP Carla Fitzgerald explained that operators also get “visibility into device traffic once the user is off network,” meaning that carriers can continue to see what services are most popular even when customers are not using their bandwidth. Smith says its client software can also manage device radios, thereby increasing battery life.
Smith Micro Software is a 30-year-old California company with a history in mobile connectivity for personal computers. “If you have ever connected a laptop or PC to a 3G network in North America, mostly likely you used Smith Micro to do that,” says Fitzgerald. Smith’s hotspot management solution helps businesses control who is accessing their WiFi hotspots and insure security of mobile hotspots.
For Sprint, connectivity management software could be a key tool in its efforts to maintain its unlimited usage plans. Wireless network data traffic grew by more than 100% between June 2010 and June 2011, and that trend is expected to accelerate in the years ahead.
Separately, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said four executives will leave the company as part of a reorganization. The changes were outlined in a corporate memo obtained by Reuters late last week.
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