Posted on September 23, 2013
While an increasing number of mobile operators deploy 4G LTE, the impact to user behavior and total data usage have been difficult to measure and thus a matter of considerable debate. The network capabilities of 4G combined with larger screen and more capable smartphones, have delivered higher speed mobile broadband, richer applications, and a more compelling user experience. As a result, 4G operators are seeing an increase in the amount of cellular data being consumed by subscribers with 4G-enabled devices. However, the Wi-Fi usage in the 4G era has been a mystery until now, since the Wi-Fi data doesn’t go over the operator network and cannot be measured unless the operator has a Wi-Fi analytics client deployed on the smartphone. At Devicescape, we recently compared wireless data usage on 4G smartphones to usage on 3G handsets across a number of 4G deployments globally. The data was compiled from tens of millions of registered Android devices, which have either been deployed by mobile operators with Devicescape’s Curator Client pre-loaded, or been installed with the DataSaver App by users. The six-month study, which measured actual data consumption on the network, ran from March to August 2013. The study consisted of 80% North…
Posted on August 16, 2013
Devicescape’s Curated Spot Check team recently visited Prague to perform an on-the-ground Wi-Fi assessment in the Czech Republic. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become a premier tourist destination, and it’s easy to see why. Not only is it one of Europe’s most beautiful cities with a preserved historic town center and splendid architecture, but it hosts a diverse set of music venues, museums, monuments, and other cultural attractions. It also features no shortage of accessible amenity Wi-Fi. Our team assessed Wi-Fi availability, attitudes, and quality throughout the city—at large hospitality chains, and at small independent businesses. We also spot-checked an overwhelming number of tourist attractions such as the Prague Castle, the Municipal House, and the Old Town Square, which features the 1410-installed Astronomical Clock. Here are some of the highlights from our assessment: The Prague Wi-Fi environment is extremely dense and fragmented. The density appears to be driven by the high number of tourists that increasingly expect Wi-Fi to be simple, free, and everywhere. The fragmentation stems from the fact that each venue owner chooses their own strategy and is not necessarily driven by a large third-party Wi-Fi provider. Major international food chains such as McDonald’s,…
Posted on July 30, 2013
Over the past few years the term “Wi-Fi offload” has emerged from obscurity to become something of an industry category. In fact, as a market leader in this space, Devicescape originally used a tag-line “the Wi-Fi Offload Company” on our website and marketing materials. While it’s certainly helpful for the industry to rally around a term to help in classification, we’ve found that this offload-centricity is less accurate an indicator of what our customers truly need. With that in mind, we made a big change in the way we describe our solutions, and have moved beyond offload to new and more representative terminology. Devicescape’s mission is to help operators, and others, integrate Wi-Fi into their overall strategies to drive a set of benefits for their subscribers. These benefits are multi-layered and difficult to fit into a simple descriptor such as offload. Some operators may indeed want to focus on cost savings—by reducing congestion and traffic on their networks, or by reducing roaming expenses—and certainly our Curated Virtual Network (CVN) is a remarkably effective platform to accomplish this. But it’s clear that all operators care about offering a superior service to their subscribers, and that LTE has changed some of the…
Posted on July 22, 2013
Devicescape’s Curated Spot Check team recently visited Poland to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of amenity Wi-Fi in historic Warsaw. With nearly 40 million people, Poland is one of the European Union’s biggest countries and a great beacon for Eastern Europe. The team assessed Wi-Fi availability, attitudes, and quality throughout the city—from global restaurant chains to local businesses and tourist locations such as the Old Town Square. Here are some of the highlights: Both indoor and outdoor hotspots are in abundance. Tens of thousands of hotspots were verified across a small sub-section of the city center. Amenity Wi-Fi is a well-established component of the city’s modern business infrastructure—both password-based and the more consumer-friendly, password-free variety—at large multinational brands, smaller independent retailers, hotels, and at cultural locations. Public and private outdoor hotspots are fast emerging. For example, in recent years, Warsaw’s city government blanketed the city center with Wi-Fi, including the popular Royal Route, which begins at Warsaw’s Castle Square, runs south down the stately Krakowskie Przedmieście, and continues through the swanky Nowy Świat area. The Wi-Fi system is highlighted by “hotspot” street signs. Many of the city center businesses seem to rely on using this system, even though the signal quality…
Posted on January 23, 2013
Upstart MVNO, Flash Wireless has selected Devicescape’s Wi-Fi offload service to complement its growing network. Flash subscribers will be able to automatically access Devicescape’s Curated Virtual Network of over 12 million hotspots while maintaining a quality connection and keeping data costs down. You can read more details of the partnership between Flash Wireless and Devicescape in the official press announcement HERE.
Posted on December 20, 2012
With the holidays on the horizon, shopping and retail traffic is predictably on the rise and is expected to continue, at least through the new year. This is a time when retailers large and small entice shoppers by offering incentives to get them in the doors and making purchases. Here in the United States, the shopping frenzy typically begins after the Thanksgiving holiday, or what Americans refer to as “Black Friday.” Elsewhere around the world, the holiday buying rush begins around the same time. The influx of traffic gives retailers a valuable opportunity to reach their consumers, not just through traditional in-store means such as signage and other gimmicks, but through the use of technology, and more specifically, in-store Wi-Fi. Devicescape, through its Curated Virtual Network, is able to monitor millions of public hotspots around the world, including these amenity-based retail hotspots. In fact, last year we wrote a couple blog posts about the impact of Wi-Fi at selected retailers around the holiday shopping season. Take a look at our posts on the topic, one written by myself and the other penned by Devicescape Chief Technology Officer John Gordon: What Black Friday means to the Wi-Fi world Black Friday: The…
