Relatively recently, mobile telephones have been configured to support voice communications as well as applications that require receipt and transmittal of data by way of a network connection. For example, currently mobile telephones are equipped with applications that support text messaging, e-mailing, instant messaging, web browsing, and the like. Furthermore, cellular networks are continuously being updated to support applications executing on mobile computing devices that request relatively large amounts of data at a relatively high throughput rate. For example, mobile telephones are being configured to execute applications for streaming high definition video for presentation to a user on a display of the mobile computing device. Similarly, mobile computing devices can be configured to execute gaming applications, wherein a user of a first mobile computing device is participating in a game with a user of a second mobile computing device in real-time, thereby requiring a relatively large amount of data to be transmitted by way of a cellular network to each of the mobile computing devices.
While processing capabilities, display resolution, chipsets, and other hardware of mobile computing devices has evolved to support applications that consume a relatively large amount of data, such applications also tend to consume a relatedly large amount of energy from batteries that charge the mobile computing devices. For example, if a user is watching a high-definition video on a mobile computing device, a battery that powers such mobile computing device may discharge all of its energy within a few hours. An exemplary protocol that has been employed by manufacturers of mobile computing devices to reduce an amount of energy consumed thereby when communicating with a base station in a cellular network is referred to as fast dormancy. Generally, this protocol allows a wireless radio to be relatively quickly (e.g., 1-3 seconds) placed into an idle state when there is no data being transferred between the mobile computing device and the base station. In current mobile computing devices, however, fast dormancy fails to extend the battery life when a user is uploading or downloading relatively large amounts of data, such as watching high definition video by way of the mobile computing device.