As if mobile video wasn’t enough of a rock star making cameos on smartphones and tablets across the globe, the hip offering is about to get a very sexy upgrade.   

3D mobile video is a buzz term rolling off of everyone’s tongues right now as it is at the cusp of its development and release stages. 3D video on mobile devices? You’re probably thinking, “that’s awesome!” But as with all great concepts, there are usually some kinds of drawbacks; and this case is no exception.  

Since 3D movies have begun blowing up on the big screen, it only makes sense for developers to take it to the next level. Why not incorporate 3D video to a device that is readily accessible and practically glued to the hands of its users at all hours of the day. 

So where’s the problem?

Mobile video alone requires enough bandwidth usage to create issues as it is. Gigaom recently credited the growth of mobile video as one reason why operators like AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert) have implemented usage-based pricing for mobile users.

So you can imagine the requirements that come into play when you add an application like three dimentional video to the mix; not to mention the fact that we are talking about incorporating it onto a much smaller, wireless device.

The major issue that 3D video on mobile devices presents affects mobile network operators more than anyone as they attempt to look for ways to provide additional bandwidth to support these advanced applications.

Dialogic, communication platform and technology provider, and an early adapter of mobile video, has been aware of this trend before it became buzz worthy ,and is prepared to tackle 3D mobile video early on as it becomes a reality.

Jim Machi, senior vice president of marketing at Dialogic (News - Alert), noted that as mobile traffic increases, the amount of bandwidth that’s available is decreasing and networks are becoming constrained. 

“And since we’re talking about stereoscopic (i.e multiple at one time) video bitstreams now, the required bandwidth will go up.  This poses a problem for both mobile operators and mobile subscribers if this becomes more than just a novelty,” he said.

According to Machi, in order to maintain profitability, mobile operators will face the challenge of being able to quickly and cost-effectively add more bandwidth capacity to their networks without expensive and time-consuming buildouts.  This will exacerbate the spectrum, access and backhaul issues and make optimization of the available spectrum and optimization of the backhaul networks even more critical than it is now.

Mobile operators need to be prepared for widespread adoption of these mobile video services and the effect this will have on their backhaul networks. Fortunately, since Dialogic is clearly ahead of the curve in terms of future mobile video trends, the company is prepared to tackle the broadband challenge head-on.

Machi says that for starters, Dialogic will be supporting the multi-view video coding (MVC) codec over time and enabling innovative applications that might choose to be 3D. 

In terms of dealing with available backhaul bandwidth, Dialogic also recently introduced a new bandwidth optimization product called the Dialogic I-Gate  4000 Session Bandwidth Optimizer Mobile Backhaul. The I-Gate 4000 SBO MB provides for voice and data stream optimization for 3Gand 2G traffic. By doubling throughput over existing backhaul links, the solution can also reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) by eliminating the need to purchase additional equipment.

There are a lot of mobile 3D concepts in the works as we speak, but who will be the first company to breakout with 3D mobile devices? Last month at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) in Barcelona, LG presented its Android-based Optimus 3D phone, set to launch early next quarter, which will enable users to capture and view 3D video without glasses.  And like Dialogic, Nokia has adapted MVC Software to make 3D on its mobile devices a reality as well.

What about Apple (News - Alert)? Nothing has been confirmed of the trendsetter hoping on board with the mobile 3D movement yet, but we can only expect that Jobs and his team have something up their sleeve for the near future. Maybe that’s why details of the release date of the iPhone 5 are still under wraps? There have been rumors of 3D being incorporated on the fifth version of Apple’s smartphone, but nothing concrete. You can’t expect the innovator to not be involved in such a buzz-worthy mobile movement.

Stefanie Mosca is a Web editor for TMCnet. Previously she worked as a freelance copy editor for Digital Surgeons LLC. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee