Wi-Fi Freedom Isn't Free

The importance of global mobility services.

- Gary Griffiths

Next to oxygen and water, Wi-Fi—now the dominant mode of connecting—is rapidly joining the rarified ranks of things we simply cannot live without. According to a recent survey conducted by Open Signal, some countries use Wi-Fi as the connection medium of choice nearly 75 percent of the time. Were Wi-Fi usage to be measured in MB, the percentage would be much higher.

Moreover, while countries using Wi-Fi most heavily are the usual suspects—technologically advanced nations like the Netherlands, the U.K., and Belgium—there are surprises too, like Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Globally, smartphone users alone consume 65 percent of their data over Wi-Fi. By 2019, 60 percent of all mobile data will be transmitted over Wi-Fi. In short: when people need to get online, they are using Wi-Fi. And they want it all the time, wherever they are.

Wi-Fi has grown so fast, not only in terms of household penetration and data migration but also of increased coverage and enhanced performance, that businesses are noticing. Their mobile employees are people who, after all, are already heavily reliant on Wi-Fi in their non-work lives. But when it comes down to it, global Wi-Fi is just as important to businesses as it is to their employees.

Businesses aim to interact with customers and employees seamlessly, and Wi-Fi offers performance, availability, and affordability without keeping? businesses beholden to a single mobile network operator.

Wi-Fi reaches places that a cellular signal just cannot, like airplanes, as well as the vast regions of the world outside the range of your cell phone provider and their partners. Even in areas where cellular coverage is available, Wi-Fi makes for a better user experience, especially for high bandwidth applications, meaning users work faster.