Wi-Fi, having appeared under the pressure of unlimited mobile Internet and more modern technology of wireless data transmission, is losing popularity and is in danger of becoming rare technology in the foreseeable future, experts say. According to them, today, many smartphone owners have ceased to connect to the Wi-Fi networks and browse the video using the mobile Internet.
Today, all the major mobile operators in the United States and in other countries offer a tariff with unlimited Internet access. As a result, users significantly decreased the need to use Wi-Fi simultaneously with the development of other wireless technologies may make wifi irrelevant in the future, says RNS.
According to the forecasts of the founder of the consulting company Telecom Media Finance Associates Tim Farrar, if today about half of all mobile traffic is generated using connecting to Wi-Fi in public places, such as stadiums or airports, in the foreseeable future, the figure could be reduced to one third.
“This can be a big switch. While coffee shops will have less incentive to provide you with free Wi-Fi,” said Farrar, explaining that as the popularity of Wi-Fi facilities will be less willing to install a more modern system of wireless access to the Internet using this technology.
Smartphone users with unlimited plans on the Internet can do to stop your Wi-Fi, said analyst of the research company Strategy Analytics Barry Gilbert. In turn, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett noted that many mobile phone owners already do so.
“At Sprint Corp., where unlimited tariffs are the norm, consumers are not waiting for an available Wi-Fi connection in order to view fresh video. They use the Internet provided by the mobile operator. The rational consumer,” said Moffett. According to him, when the cost of mobile Internet is high, users rely more on Wi-Fi. “When changing pricing policy changing the behavior,” the analyst added.
In addition to mobile tariffs with unlimited Internet, the relevance of Wi-Fi may be reduced as a result of development of technology of wireless data transmission LTE-U (LTE-Unlicensed) unlicensed frequencies — create access points to such networks are less expensive than Wi-Fi, experts say.
The Future Of Wi-Fi
The disappearance of Wi-Fi is likely to be slow and uneven. On the one hand, unlimited access to the mobile Internet removes the need for using this technology in phones. On the other, it is still used by many household devices, such as laptops or “smart” devices like Amazon Echo, to connect to the Internet.
Wi-Fi is also used to connect to the Internet, office space or homes with poor coverage of cellular networks. Some operators also rely on a Wi-Fi network to transfer large amounts of data.
“Wi-Fi has always been a step ahead because of its effectiveness and capacity to transfer large amounts of data. The market will decide which technology is more convenient for the end user. The idea that another technology could replace Wi-Fi, it sounds very optimistic,” — said Vice-President of marketing consortium Wi-Fi Alliance (it includes over 700 companies, including Apple and Samsung) Kevin Robinson.
The world’s largest manufacturer of Wi-Fi terminals — Cisco Systems — is already considering the idea of developing new equipment that will simultaneously support Wi-Fi and LTE-U.
“Too early to say which technology will win. Have LTE there are advantages, but Wi-Fi remains in demand,” — said Vice-President and General Manager of division mobile technology company Cisco Mike Iandolo.
