Such signals, including social updates, cause the device to poll the network constantly, overburdening the network.
SK Telecom has developed a proprietary technology to mitigate the problem, and now aims to push it as a standard with other carriers.
The operator has signed agreements with Nokia Siemens and Samsung to promote the technology, called Smart Push, among their customers. However, it played down recent reports that it had gained Vodafone's support.
Smart Push enables integrated management of “keep alive” signals, those which maintain connections between handsets and the network for messaging, SMS and other “chatty” apps.
According to SKT, the system sits between the network and third party app servers, and constantly monitors the status of the servers and of push notifications.
It manages the traffic in order to preserve data connections, for instance by restricting the number of keep alive signals which can be sent, and pushing such signals, from multiple apps, into a single tunnel.
Smart Push can be deployed in areas of high traffic and customized according to local traffic patterns.
SKT says Smart Push is a way for over-the-top app providers and cellcos to cooperate – if networks become sufficiently congested to fail, the OTT suppliers suffer too.