The majority of devices are now Wi-Fi-enabled, and the fastest-growing category is “nomadic” devices like tablets and eReaders. We now need to speak of the “mobile home,” as the home is by far the most popular location for consumers to use their mobile devices. Surprisingly, Wi-Fi is the network connection of choice for most consumers for all of their devices. Public Wi-Fi is now a big part of mobile life.
Consumers are generally satisfied with their public Wi-Fi
experience, but they want it to be faster, more secure, better quality, and
most of all, available in more places. Consumers
are anxious for enhanced personal mobile experiences that can be delivered by
unlocking the inherent business value hidden in the Wi-Fi infrastructure.
While it is never easy to foresee the
future, we are making five predictions for key changes in the
mobile industry over the next two
years based on insights from the Cisco mobile consumer research:
5 Predictions
for the Future
1.
Mobile devices will become even more home-based.
In the next two years, daily use of mobile devices in the home
will equal the use of TVs (average 5 hours)
2.
Wi-Fi will become the predominant access technology for smartphones.
Within the
next two years:
Ø Close to
100 percent of smartphones will use Wi-Fi.
Ø Smartphone
owners will use Wi-Fi at least 50 percent of the time to connect to the
Internet.
3.
Public Wi-Fi use will continue to grow.
Within the
next two years:
Ø Eighty
percent of all mobile consumers will use public Wi-Fi.
Ø Seventy-five
percent of all public Wi-Fi users will use this technology at least weekly in
some locations.
4.
Public Wi-Fi will be used more often, in more places.
In the next two years, 40 to 50
percent of all public Wi-Fi users will use Wi-Fi at least weekly in
restaurants, coffee shops, retail and outdoor locations.
5.
Public Wi-Fi will become mainstream for delivering mobile entertainment.
In the next two years:
Ø Sixty
percent of public Wi-Fi users will access social media
Ø Forty
percent of public Wi-Fi users will stream music or video.
Full results of the survey can be found at Discover What Consumers Want from Wi-Fi and Mobile
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