Anurag Patnaik, who works with mobile analytics tools at Openwave (NSDQ: OPWV), put the data surge into very practical terms. One smartphone equals 30 feature phones on a network, and one netbook or aircard equals 450 feature phones. Patnaik: “Carriers have to address the trend of bandwidth usage. The data tsunami is definitely happening. In four years, we’ll be consuming an exabyte (or one billion gigabytes) of data. It took the fixed internet eight years to achieve that,” he said.

While the problem has come out of the closet, it’s the solution that are still fairly hush-hush. Some of the constraints will be alleviated as higher capacity networks, like 4G, roll out. But likely something will have to happen sooner. For now, the leading possibility is that carriers will move away from the unlimited data packages that have been so popular and instead have a tiered system. Customers who pay premium prices will get more bandwidth. Others who choose to pay less, will have a restricted amount of usage, and pay a fee if they go over. Another solution is compressing video and other types of content during peak traffic periods.

The sticky part will be in changing consumer behavior and expectations. They have been trained to believe that they can eat as much as they want for a set price. Regulators may also play a role as they pursue net-neutrality like rules in the wireless industry. AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega said more regulation will only stifle innovation: “We believe in an open internet and a mobile internet that is free of regulation. We want to be part of constructive dialogue. Our strongest belief that consumers will access value and they will pick the winners and losers. The wireless industry is strong, thriving, innovative and open. Let’s keep it that way.”