Comments on: Is 'Wi-Fi First' the future of mobility?

By: Kal Amery

Kal Amery — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 13:14:00 +0000

While the trend to free wifi is indisputable, who is going to pay for all of this free wifi for Apple and Google. I would also suggest that people are discounting the potential security threat of open free wifi in their rush to reduce their mobile bills. There is already growing concern regarding malicious designed free wifi where the operator is providing the access points to steal the users personal information or plant malware. As people become increasingly used to free wifi outside their own homes this threat will increase. With mobile operators there remains a risk of device hacks but one can be reasonably certain that the network security is much greater as the operators are developing more sophisticated defense and early warning systems.

By: Russell Lundberg

Russell Lundberg — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 08:54:50 +0000

First, I agree with your scenario: “The device gets to choose what network to connect to, and (nearly) all the time that network will be Wi-Fi.” This scenario is precisely why the Telecom Manufacturers are lining up behind LTE-U. They are the ones most threatened by mobile service in unlicensed spectrum.

(I’ve written about the threat of LTE-U in http://bangkokbeachtelecom.com/2015/09/01/why-lte-u-advocates-avoid-wifi-interop/)

This is why WiFi equipment manufacturers and WiFi service providers need to act in concert to defend the principles of unlicensed spectrum. The incumbents of licensed spectrum are threatened by the advantages of unlicensed spectrum, and are seeking to undermine them.