At the 2010 TelcoTV conference, the thought of Wi-Fi being the “true 4G standard” popped up briefly on a panel discussion, and at the 2010 TV 3.0 conference, Wi-Fi was called the “default” home networking standard at a few booths.
Both of these names have popped up again recently at CES and elsewhere, and they bear a little fleshing out.
These ideas stem from Wi-Fi
being almost everywhere, from homes and coffee shops to airports and auto repair shops. Consumers have gotten used to Wi-Fi being everywhere, so now they demand fast speeds without a wired connection, not really caring where the service comes from. Wi-Fi is usually piggybacking on a wired network connection, and with the speeds being demanded, there are many saying that fiber is the only way to keep up.
being almost everywhere, from homes and coffee shops to airports and auto repair shops. Consumers have gotten used to Wi-Fi being everywhere, so now they demand fast speeds without a wired connection, not really caring where the service comes from. Wi-Fi is usually piggybacking on a wired network connection, and with the speeds being demanded, there are many saying that fiber is the only way to keep up.Couple this thought with the overburdened 3G networks most are still on with their mobile devices, and Wi-Fi looks to be the key to bridging the gap between mobile and fiber, removing the cumbersome amount of users on a mobile network while also diminishing the costs of fiber, which is generally thought of as too expensive to roll out to every location that wants it.
With all of these thoughts floating around, it’s worth taking a quick look at new applications of Wi-Fi that are cropping up:
- BT has developed an iPad app that allows broadband subscribers to access more than two million hotspots in the UK.
- Boingo Wireless, which operates around 200,000 global hotspots, largely in airports, is looking into a stock market listing.
- BSkyB is planning to purchase The Cloud, which operates 22,000 hotspots in Europe.
- Airlines like Delta, United and Virgin are offering Wi-Fi on their longer flights.
- Orange France, Eutelsat, Alsthom, SNCF and Capgemini are deploying on-board Wi-Fi in the TGV (France’s high-speed rail service).
- Telenet has decided not to participate in Belgian spectrum auctions in order to focus on cable and Wi-Fi offerings.
The latest news for how standard Wi-Fi has become is the new premium offering from O2 UK. Calling it “O2 Wi-Fi,” the company will give hotspot access to people for free, no matter what mobile or broadband provider they use. O2 said it’ll at least double the number of hotspots offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by the beginning of 2013.
Its initial launch will cover the existing 450 hotspots offered under Cloud branding. All hotspots will be premium public offerings, removing the limited bandwidth associated with residential connections.
Wi-Fi is not only a big part of the future — it’s a bridge to get there faster.
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