It seems that everywhere you go these days, the little Wi-Fi icon on your mobile device lights up to show that an access point is nearby. In fact, The Wireless Broadband Alliance predicts that the number of public Wi-Fi hotspots globally will grow more than fourfold, to 5.8 million, by 2015. This increasing availability of public hotspots is creating a new “nomadic” network to rival traditional mobile networks and support new mobile devices and their owners’ lifestyles (see blog posting “A New Type of Mobility”). Consumers now expect to have Wi-Fi access when they are sipping a latte in their favorite coffee shop, watching their team score the winning touchdown at the local stadium, or even when they are waiting in line to pay for their groceries.

To learn more about what consumers are doing with their mobile devices, and how and where they are using them, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) recently conducted a survey of U.S. mobile users. Following are our top three findings related to the use of public Wi-Fi: Read More »

Tags: Cisco, devices, ereaders, IBSG, mobile, research, Service Provider, Smartphones, survey, tablet PCs, Tablets, wi-fi

Mobile used to mean the connectivity service that you bought from your local mobile network operator that freed you from the wire connected to the wall. The rise of Wi-Fi has changed all that. Most mobile devices are now Wi-Fi-enabled (see blog posting “What Is a Mobile Device Anymore?”). Wi-Fi has broken the MNO’s monopoly of providing wireless freedom to consumers. While Wi-Fi may not provide all of the features of mobile cellular technology, consumers now have a choice in how they want to connect their devices wirelessly to the Internet – mobile cellular or Wi-Fi.

To learn more about what consumers are doing with their mobile devices, and how and where they are using them, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) recently conducted a survey of U.S. mobile users. Following are our top three findings related to mobile connectivity: Read More »

Tags: Cisco, devices, ereaders, IBSG, mobile, research, Service Provider, Smartphones, survey, tablet PCs, Tablets, wi-fi

It used to be easy—mobile devices were brick-like devices that we carried with us to make phone calls.  Not anymore. Now we have smartphones, tablets, eReaders, and other devices that we bring everywhere and can’t seem to live without. No longer are we using them just for phone calls. In fact, they are now mobile computers, books, entertainment stations, game consoles, and social tools, in addition to our communications hubs. And, because Wi-Fi has become a prevalent way for many of these devices to connect to the Internet, they’re no longer strictly “mobile,” from a network perspective.

To learn more about what consumers are doing with their mobile devices, and how and where they are using them, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) recently conducted a survey of U.S. mobile users. Following are our top three findings related to mobile devices: Read More »

Tags: Cisco, devices, ereaders, IBSG, mobile, research, Service Provider, Smartphones, survey, tablet PCs, Tablets, wi-fi

By Bill Gerhardt, Director, IBSG Service Provider

As you’ve probably noticed, mobile computing is exploding. My home has close to 10 mobile devices, and my kids want even more! According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, this insatiable demand for smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices will double globally in 2012 and increase another 78 percent by 2014.

At the same time, Cisco IBSG is seeing a similar rise in the worldwide popularity of Wi-Fi. In fact, according to In-Stat, the number of Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to reach 2.7 million, with usage growing 200 percent, by 2014.

Given this, how can service providers—who must bear the burden of increased traffic—actually Read More »

Tags: broadband, business models, Cisco, Computing, hotspots, IBSG, mobile, service providers, Smartphones, SPs, Tablets, wi-fi

By Peter Gaspar, Consulting Systems Engineer, Service Provider Mobility, Emerging Theater

It’s not new news that when it comes to network access, Wi-Fi technology is a cost-effective complement to macro radio access. Industry blogs continuously feature analysis about the economic advantages of using Wi-Fi as a small cell technology. No surprise, then, that many mobile operators have completed or are working seriously on plans to integrate this technology into their mobile ecosystems.

But when it comes to details, things start to get confusing. Terms like policy and charging, lawful intercept, mobility and SIM authentication start to pop up. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has incorporated Wi-Fi (non-3GPP IP Access) as part of the LTE architecture, created the terminology and studied the Read More »

Tags: architecture, data offload, mobile, Service Provider, wi-fi, wifi