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From mobile service providers to local libraries, broadband, wireless, and 3G data capacity is being stretched by the dramatic increase in demand. Mobile Opportunity breaks down a recent report from Cisco that proposes that the worst is yet to come.

The forecasts are driven by a couple of simple observations:

–Smartphones produce much more data traffic than traditional mobile phones. Cisco estimates that a single smartphone produces as much data traffic as 40 traditional feature phones. So converting 10 million people from feature phones to smartphones is like adding 390 million new feature phone users, in terms of impact on the data network. The more popular smartphones get, the busier the network becomes.

–A notebook PC generates far more traffic than a smartphone. According to Cicso, a single notebook computer generates the same data traffic as 450 feature phones. As notebook users convert to 3G-enabled netbooks and add 3G dongles to their computers, they dramatically increase the data traffic load on the network.

You can read more onMobile Opportunity.

In a similar trend, the American Library Association released a report finding that 59.6% of American libraries have inadequate connectivity for their patrons. ArsTechnica reports:

One of the problems is funding; in a recession, and especially a recession where housing prices (and therefore property taxes) are dropping in many communities, it can be hard to scrape the cash together for a library bandwidth upgrade.

But another problem is simple availability. As the ALA’s report (PDF) points out, “moving from a 56Kbps circuit to 1.5Mbps is one thing. Moving from 1.5Mbps to 20Mbps or to 100Mbps or even to a gigabit—depending on the size and need of the library—is another.” Even when they can pay for it, many libraries are finding that higher speeds simply aren’t available.

The findings focus largely on more rural areas where access to fiber optic and other high-speed internet is sometimes nonexistant. You can read more at ArsTechnica.com.

However, current shortages will lead to more investment and expansion, and as technology continues to improve, the opportunities for new technologies to leapfrog current shortcomings are great. For example in rural India, villagers that have not previously had access to FM radio, are now able to listen to Bollywood or cricket matches on their mobile phones. The Wall Street Journal reports on the transformations cell phone technologies are providing to rural India:

Tata Teleservices has a service which lets farmers use their cellphones to control the pumps that water their crops. For the religiously devout, Bharti Airtel is starting a service where users can hear live prayers and chants from popular temples, mosques and shrines.

“Our religious offerings work the best,” says Raghunath Mandava, chief marketing officer at Bharti Airtel. “There is nothing like getting the original prayer from the place of worship.”

Charges for the services vary: Some are free for now, others cost more than the price of a regular call. Dial-up radio, for example, costs about one rupee, or 2 U.S. cents, a minute. Reliance customers can get cricket reports via text messages three times a day on the day of the match for 5 rupees per day, or take a service for 49 rupees a month to listen to live commentary during matches.

Read more on India’s new rural radio from The Wall Street Journal.