In The News
Greggs Has The Best Free Wi-Fi On The High Street
Tech Week Europe
November 2015
Greggs offers the best free quality Wi-Fi of any major retailer on the high street, according to a new report, which says businesses of all types have followed the lead of coffee shops in offering wireless connectivity to customers. Devicescape analysed data from 100,000 smartphones connected to its ‘curated virtual network’ (CVN) which comprises more than 20 million hotspots worldwide and 215,000 in the UK which meet certain quality standards. The 40 most used retailers and restaurants were assessed in the report.
UK high street retailers commended for Wi-Fi offering
Essential Retail
November 19th, 2015
Greggs and Marks & Spencer (M&S) offer the best quality free Wi-Fi on the UK high street, according to a study released by Wi-Fi analyst group Devicescape. The report suggests that when brands are ranked according to a combination of the quality of their Wi-Fi and the ease with which it can be accessed, Boots and Asda come out on top.
Greggs and Marks & Spencer named UK high street Wi-Fi leaders
Computer Business Review
November 18th, 2015
Greggs along with Marks & Spencer has come up as the most interconnected brand in the UK high street for offering the best quality free Wi-Fi. According to a report titled, 'Making Connections: Wi-Fi on the UK High Street' by wireless networking company Devicescape, retail and 'food on the go' sectors were the ones to offer best quality Wi-Fi. The sectors were closely followed by restaurants, banks, and coffee shops which mostly attracts attract nomadic workers.
Greggs and Boots named as UK high street Wi-Fi leaders in new report
Retail Times
November 18th, 2015
While free Wi-Fi might be associated most closely with coffee shops keen to attract nomadic workers, the report shows just how widespread and high quality Wi-Fi on the UK high street has in fact become. Devicescape found that brands from the retail and ‘food on the go’ sectors offered the best quality Wi-Fi during the survey period, followed by restaurants, banks, and coffee shops.
Greggs and Boots named UK High Street Wi-Fi Leaders
Retail Technology
November 18th, 2015
Greggs and Marks & Spencer offer the best quality free Wi-Fi of the UK’s leading High Street retailers, according to a study released today by Wi-Fi experts Devicescape. The report, Making Connections: Wi-Fi on the UK High Street, reveals the results of a listing, compiled to rank the top High Street retailers that offer free Wi-Fi, taking into account quality, accessibility, and usage.
Greggs and Boots lead the way in UK high street Wi-Fi
Internet Retailing
November 18th, 2015
Greggs and Marks & Spencer [IRDX RMAS] offer the best quality free Wi-Fi of the UK’s leading high street brands, according to a study released today by Wi-Fi experts Devicescape. But when brands are ranked according to a combination of the quality of their Wi-Fi and the ease with which it can be accessed, Boots [IRDX RBOO] and Asda [IRDX RASD] take the top positions.
Greggs and Boots named as UK High Street Wi-Fi Leaders in New Report
A1 Retail
November 18th
While free Wi-Fi might be associated most closely with coffee shops keen to attract nomadic workers, the report shows just how widespread and high quality Wi-Fi on the UK high street has in fact become. Devicescape found that brands from the retail and ‘food on the go’ sectors offered the best quality Wi-Fi during the survey period, followed by restaurants, banks, and coffee shops.
WiFi gets more liquid: Devicescape links up with bandwidth exchange
Telecom TV
November 17th, 2015
What better way to financially link multiple WiFi hotspot network owners with emerging WiFi service providers (mobile operators, MVNOs and WiFi first operators) than with an exchange mechanism to enable dynamic access bandwidth pricing for sets of WiFi access points according to location, demand and service quality? To that end another WiFi strategic partnership was announced today between Devicescape and Wi-Fi capacity marketplace provider BandwidthX (see - WiFi hotspot provider iPass bulks up by adding FON and a curation platform) under which Devicescape’s ‘Curated Virtual Network’ (CVN) of amenity Wi-Fi access points will be integrated into the Bandwidth X offering.
Devicescape's BandwidthX deal – face of the new WiFi
Rethink Wireless
November 17th, 2015
Earlier this month, business-focused aggregator iPass announced deals with FON and Devicescape, to bring it close to its target of offering customers 50m access points worldwide. Now Devicescape is also teaming up with BandwidthX, the pioneer in on-demand WiFi capacity.
Devicescape, BandwidthX to boost operator WiFi offering
Total Telecom
November 17th, 2015,
The partnership allows operators to buy CVN access on an on-demand, dynamic pricing basis, giving them a vital capacity boost exactly when, where, and for how long they need it.
Devicescape’s CVN integrated into BandwidthX’s Wi-Fi capacity trading solution
Wireless
November 17th, 2015
Devicescape has announced a strategic partnership that will see its curated virtual network (CVN) of amenity Wi-Fi integrated into the offering of Wi-Fi capacity marketplace provider BandwidthX.
Indoor Connectivity – Wi-Fi Has You Covered
The Fast Mode
November 11th, 2015
The indoor coverage problem is not one of resource, it is one of access provision, quality management, and integration. If mobile operators are keen to provide continuity of service at the application level — as their enthusiasm for Wi-Fi calling indicates they are — then they need to apply the same thinking to the underlying access. Otherwise the overall experience they provide will continue to lack the consistency for which they are aiming and the service they provide will still cease at the thresholds of numerous buildings, both public and domestic.
WiFi hotspot provider iPass bulks up by adding FON and a curation platform
Telecom TV
November 4th, 2015
WiFi hotspot aggregator iPass has now aggregated two other major players in the evolving ‘WiFi first’ market and looks, on paper at least, to be a formidable force. Telcos beware.
In August iPass announced that it was leaping into bed with Curated Virtual Network (CVN) specialist Devicescape. That was a logical, scale-enhancing move which strategically added Devicescape’s ‘virtual’ network (it doesn’t own hotspots, but curates amenity WiFi connections) to iPass’s multi-million Wifi hotspots, giving the combined entity a global network of 50 million ‘Wi-Fi locations’.
Wi-Fi a key enabler for carriers to fill in the holes
October 26th, 2015
On October 12th the UK House of Commons debated network coverage ‘notspots’, which highlights the challenges faced by mobile network operators in delivering ubiquitous service. But their problems are not restricted to remote and rural areas as there are numerous total or partial notspots in urban environments as well, thanks to densely packed buildings that obstruct the cellular signal.
Dave Fraser, CEO, Devicescape says “In the UK, free amenity Wi-Fi of the kind offered by numerous consumer facing businesses and premises owners has become a significant connectivity resource, delivering essential backup when the cellular network struggles to deliver optimum performance indoors. The businesses that make it available to their customers have, as a result, become important connectivity providers in their own right."
Wi-Fi and the indoor coverage challenge
Wireless
October 21st, 2015
Providing indoor cellular coverage is a major challenge for operators, but Wi-Fi can fill the gap. Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape, argues that operators can provide value to end users by embracing Wi-Fi and running cellular and Wi-Fi networks as a coherent resource, and managing the entire experience for quality and convenience
For new MVNOs in the UK, timing is everything
European Communications
October 16th, 2015
U.S. mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) ROK Mobile and FreedomPop have both crossed the Atlantic with summer launches this year, and Carphone Warehouse’s MVNO iD is another recent addition to the UK mix. Free from the burden of infrastructure investments and spectrum costs, these newcomers can attack the market with more latitude (and more attitude) than the incumbents.
MPs set to discuss “NotSpots” in mobile coverage debate
Mobile News
October 12th, 2015
The three hour debate will look at issues including fibre vs cable, 3G and 4G and “Notspots” – the term coined to identify areas with no mobile coverage whatsoever. Devicescape CEO Dave Fraser said the debate highlights the challenges mobile operators face in trying to achieve ubiquitous coverage.
“Their problems are not restricted to remote and rural areas,” he added. “There are numerous total or partial notspots in urban environments as well, thanks to densely packed buildings that obstruct the cellular signal, making indoor coverage arguably the sternest network challenge with which mobile operators must contend. In the UK, free amenity Wi-Fi of the kind offered by numerous consumer facing businesses and premises owners has become a significant connectivity resource, delivering essential backup when the cellular network struggles to deliver optimum performance indoors."
Vodafone calls last orders on poor pub coverage
Computer Business Review
October 5th, 2015
In a recent interview with CBR, Mike Hibberd of DeviceScape argued that small cells were unlikely to make it into households. Hibberd argues that there are inherent flaws with a femtocell approach compared to wi-fi. Commenting on Vodafone's roll-out, he said: "The problems with femtocells are that either the customer or the operator has to pay for them, and they are generally tied to specific operators. This means the coverage they offer only helps a subset of consumers."
Merging cellular and Wi-Fi: the death of siloed telcos
Computer Business Review
October 2nd, 2015
Could we move away from having individual mobile, fixed and wi-fi providers and towards simply having overall connectivity providers? This is what Mike Hibberd, Director of Marketing at Devicescape, suggests, saying his company is blurring the lines between cellular and wi-fi networks.
FreedomPop launches commercial services in the UK
Fierce Wireless
September 23rd, 2015
FreedomPop UK has officially launched its "100 per cent free mobile service" in what is the mobile virtual network operator's first foray outside the U.S. market. Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape, noted that FreedomPop brings a disruptive influence to the UK market "to coincide nicely with an impending reduction in incumbent operator numbers".