Media are full of stories touting the power of mobile devices.  The smartphone is now the poster child for convergence:  TV shows soon to come to your iPhone from local TV stations, maps of the nearest pizza places and the like.  Well, not so fast. 

Literally, 3G is not so fast---certainly not as fast as claimed.  The 3G networks-not to mention the still-functioning 2G grid---do not work that well.  An article in the Saturday edition of the New York Times points out that the systems function at well below advertised speeds.  Data are delayed for long periods.  One woman quoted said that she did not receive more than half of her text messages.  And then there is the tricky matter of phone calls:  The 3G systems keep dropping them.  Has anyone recently cruised around Manhattan in a taxi and tried to maintain a signal?  In Manhattan, self-proclaimed center of the Universe.

There are many reasons cited for the non-performance, but, basically, the systems are overloaded with the demands of new smartphones.  It is a bit of a mess.  And 4G, or LTE, recently touted at the Mobile World Congress, may simply add to this complexity.  The carriers are investing many billions to upgrade their networks but it won't be fast enough-I mean soon enough.  Besides, where will they get all that money?  Credit markets have dried up.  Well, they'll get it from us, in higher rates.  (That's another story, though:  In Europe, the EU is fed up with exorbitant mobile rates and is legislating caps.)

So what?  Well, reality does have a way of crimping grand plans.  Business models contingent on things like text messages getting through---or, say, a phone call coming through---may experience a nasty backlash from consumers who, rightly or wrongly, will blame the particular service, rather than the carrier's network.  Just take a deep breath and know that, well, convergence will take a bit of time.  At least now you have another excuse for not taking that call.