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.

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 Data

It won’t be a huge surprise to see that retail Wi-Fi connectivity has spiked again this season.  In fact, we can only surmise that it will grow significantly in the near term as retailers begin to capitalize on their in-store wireless infrastructure.

There are clear signs in the retail industry that Wi-Fi is being implemented to add value to the shopping experience.  Earlier this year, United Colors of Benetton extended its internal, staff-only Wi-Fi network to customers in its UK stores.  The need to open the network to all became evident when there were a number of promotions and events that required temporary internet access within the venue.  Stores already had basic connectivity due to some routers previously installed, but there were no security protocols in place.  The retailer enlisted an outside vendor to implement a cloud-based managed Wi-Fi solution that could be controlled by the company’s IT department.  Through this tool, Benetton was able to monitor connectivity and performance at each location.  This added service to consumers also proved to be a valuable marketing vehicle to in-store traffic.  Once within range inside a store, a customer accessing the network is automatically taken to a company landing page or a specific promotional opportunity.

The Benetton case study is a great example of retail Wi-Fi deployment at minimal cost, but with maximum return.  The benefits are to both consumers, who receive the added benefit of internet connectivity, and the retailer, who can now leverage a marketing channel to reach their consumer and potentially upsell them with additional products or services.

Since Devicescape’s technology monitors Wi-Fi usage and metrics at public hotspots, it is simple to glean additional insights from the data.  Similar to last year, John Gordon, Devicescape’s CTO, was able to illustrate the uptick in Wi-Fi traffic that U.S. retailers experienced the week of Black Friday.



Although it’s obvious that November 22^nd (Thanksgiving Day in the United States) and November 23^rd show a marked change in traffic, it’s more interesting to note which retailers saw the biggest percent change.  Pacific Sunwear saw a 168% increase in connections to Wi-Fi on the day after Thanksgiving.  One can assume that they had a strong post-Thanksgiving promotion that brought consumers into the store.  Secondly, their demographic targets young consumers, presumably a number of kids and teens on limited family data share plans, increasing the need to connect to Wi-Fi and minimize overages.  It’s also interesting to note that the connections also increased the day before Thanksgiving.  We’re seeing many retailers start holiday promotions early to capitalize on advanced sales prior to the Friday surge.

Connections to Wi-Fi is not an accurate measure of actual foot traffic in a venue, as Devicescape can only monitor those consumers that have our software on their mobile device.  But the data at least gives us a general measurement of activity.  More importantly, it can give the retailer a baseline they can use to strategize and deploy in-store promotions and events via their wireless networks.  Targeted mobile-based promotions via Wi-Fi continue to be adopted by retailers, as in the case of Benetton, and will serve as an additional outreach channel.

Large scale retail Wi-Fi deployments are also increasing around the globe.  In February 2012, Westfield and Cafaro malls in the United States announced they will soon offer venue Wi-Fi courtesy of Boingo Wireless.  This initiative will allow shoppers to gain Wi-Fi access through their mobile devices when entering the venue.  Retailers are recognizing that consumers always have a device on hand and that they have the opportunity to capitalize on that fact by tailoring and enhancing shoppers’ experience.  According to a Deloitte survey of 1,557 smartphone owners, people who use their smartphone in that retailer are 14% more likely to make a purchase there.  And if they visit the store website or app while inside, the likelihood of purchases increases to 33%. Although mobile marketing is still a relatively new concept, it is clear that it has value to the retailers from a revenue perspective.

We can reasonably expect retail Wi-Fi to continue growing in the coming year as smartphone adoption mounts and consumers become ever more attached to using their mobile devices to navigate their world.  Increasing foot traffic, generating more revenue and differentiating one’s business from a competitor continue to be core challenges for retailers.  Adding an incentive like Wi-Fi, which is low cost, can only enhance the overall user and shopping experience.  The benefit to the retailer is another channel through which they can market to customers.  Retailers can also gain insights from user experience to strategize future in-store marketing activities.  And as a consumer, as long as we can have access to Wi-Fi without impacting our smartphone data cap, or our shopping experience, we should all hope retail Wi-Fi continues to grow.

It’s another win, not just for Devicescape and U.S. Cellular but for the industry and the operator’s subscriber base.  This partnership aims at improving the overall subscriber experience while complementing the current network of U.S. Cellular.

Read more about the announcement HERE.

We at Devicescape encounter many questions about our solution and more specifically our Curated Virtual Network of public WiFi hotspots.  It’s understandable given the fact that WiFi offload is a relatively new solution for the wireless industry.  And from a consumer perspective, the understanding of WiFi is rather limited in scope.  Most people tend to think that WiFi is only available at work or in your home or in selected establishments like coffee shops and universities.  That is only the tip of the iceberg.  It’s everywhere.

After attending many tradeshows and conferences related to WiFi and the telecom industry as well as participating in many media inquiries, I believe the most common question asked to Devicescape is, “How do you collect and assemble the WiFi in your network?”  And of course the follow up question is always along the lines of “Are you inappropriately using someone else’s WiFi connection?”

Believe it or not, the second question is the easier one to answer and that is “No”.  We are not inappropriately using or stealing anybody’s WiFi.  All the WiFi in our CVN is public and free which by definition is meant for the public consumption.  Although we can identify tens of millions of access points including home or other private networks, our patented technology allows us to discriminate between hotspots that are public and intentionally open for sharing and those that aren’t.  No need to worry about your home WiFi network being used inappropriately.  We make it a point not to include that in our CVN.

And for all of you wondering if it’s ok to leverage a retailer’s WiFi network, we believe that the retailer wants their network to be used.  It’s there as a value-add to its customers.  Whether it’s used to bring people in the door or used to communicate information or offers, it’s meant for everybody that engages with them.  And frankly, if you’re connecting to a retailer’s WiFi, it’s reasonable to believe that you’re in WiFi range because you have business to be at that particular location.

Who is to benefit from Devicescape’s WiFi offload solution?  Everyone benefits from it.  Let me break it down for you:

Hotspot Owners (retailers, municipal, universities, libraries etc.) – The owners of public hotspots benefit because they can capitalize on the business and traffic that offering free WiFi provides.  For example, a coffee shop that offers WiFi to its customers does so to bring them in the door, order food and beverages and gives them a reason to stay with the opportunity to order more items.  It’s a value-add resource and something that’s meant to be used by everyone.

Consumer – You get constant connectivity most places you go.  As a society, we are all tied to our mobile device.  Internet connectivity is fast becoming a necessity for most.  For those of us that have smartphones, we have our expensive data plans that we use up.  What if WiFi can offset the use of the cellular data plan and save you money?  What if WiFi can provide you with some connectivity where a cellular connection is weak?  What if you’re outside of your carrier’s coverage area and you need data connectivity but are worried about incurring high roaming costs?  Free public WiFi can offer all these things to you with no cost and minimal effort.  Devicescape’s WiFi solution not only provides a curated network, the software automatically and easily connects a user to a high-quality hotspot.

Mobile Carriers – When a wireless operator contracts with Devicescape, they don’t just get access to millions of hotspots, they get access to high quality, hotspots that are curated using our patented technology solution.  The operator is then able to incorporate their policy and QoS requirements and can begin leveraging the network.  Operators can then connect to these hotspots in the CVN to offload data traffic from their cellular network onto this virtual network of free public WiFi.  This translates to improved quality of service by relieving data congestion on their own networks and more importantly saving millions of dollars in capital and operating expenditures.

Devicescape – Since our business is mainly with the mobile operators, we provide them with an industry leading solution that costs relatively little and easy to deploy in a short timeframe.  That means cost savings all around and potential business for the hotspot owners.

We understand that people will always have questions about how we operate our business and discover WiFi hotspots.  But no matter what, Devicescape ensures quality connectivity without compromising any ethical or legal issues. In short, we don’t steal WiFi nor do we engage in any activity that is questionable.

Public WiFi is for the masses.  Devicescape just makes it easier for everyone to connect to it.  We save millions of dollars for the mobile operators.  And we indirectly help hotspot owners bring business and traffic through its doors by connecting them to their customers or users.

Everybody wins.

Devicescape just released a new Android App in the Google Play marketplace called DataSaver.  If you’re looking for an app to seamlessly connect to WiFi, as well as help manage your data plan, then this is the app for you.  By the way, if you download the app, you also can easily connect to Devicescape’s 8 million plus hotspots in the Curated Virtual Network.

More importantly, it comes down to dollars and cents.  In the era of the smartphone, data caps and throttling by your mobile carriers are now commonplace.  Verizon for example has migrated to shared data plans.  With these new initiatives, the possibility of exceeding your plan limits and paying the hefty premium associated with it are now a reality.  One needs to be more mindful when consuming data now.

Enter DataSaver. Time to start saving data and money!

• A Connection Manager – Automatic access to the Devicescape CVN of 8 million WiFi hotspots.  Users can also set-up personal WiFi hotspot accounts (home, school, airports, etc.), even those that may require a login, for a true hassle-free WiFi experience.
• A Data Manager – Data Speed and Data Savings widgets give users feedback on their current data connection performance and their WiFi versus 3G/4G usage. Users are notified when they are getting close to their data plan, with tips on how to improve their data savings.  Users can also check which applications consume what amount of data.

4G has become a hot topic in 2012, particularly with the launching of several prominent 4G-compatible devices from Samsung, LG, HTC, and others. However, Informa Telecoms & Media predict that 70% of mobile internet traffic is being carried by WiFi. Consequently, it has been suggested that massive investments in 4G networks should not be considered the be-all-and-end-all of the mobile data picture. As a leader in WiFi offloading, Devicescape believes that the two approaches must complement each other in order to provide the best service for consumers.

The development of upcoming 4G networks has received heavy investment as 3G networks struggle to cope with the rapidly growing quantity of mobile data-traffic. This is through no fault of the network providers; it’s simply a constraint of physics, and an increase in adoption of smartphones. Smartphones are set to outnumber the human population this year, and a finite amount of bandwidth can only support a finite amount of data.

Improving mobile networks is essential, but it is time to fully embrace the fact that they cannot operate alone. Users now expect immediate mobile internet access at will. For this to continue it is imperative that WiFi and carrier networks complement each other, allowing telcos to provide the best possible service to end-users, and reduce churn.

Devicescape has achieved offload rates in upwards of 40% or more where mobile data traffic is offloaded to public WiFi networks. With the huge reach of intentionally shared hotspots around the world, mobile network providers must leverage solutions such as the Devicescape Curated Virtual Network (CVN) of over 8 million hotspots to provide a higher and more reliable quality of service for their customers while achieving industry leading offload rates.

Mobile operators have no choice but to provide numerous mechanisms to handle the impending data tsunami. Public WiFi access is complementary to 4G networks because wide area access is a natural fill-in for local area access. With public WiFi becoming more ubiquitous, it is essential that mobile operators realize its potential, and choose the right WiFi strategy to complement their already strained networks.

Read this Business Computing World article by Devicescape’s own, John Lillie, as he makes the case for WiFi and 4G working together efficiently.  The case for WiFi offload is never more apparent than today.

http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/4g-and-wifi-must-work-in-tandem-due-to-ever-growing-mobile-demand/

Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape answers questions from Robert Scoble of STBI about WiFi offloading and the pervasiveness of WiFi itself.

Robert Scoble of STBI interviews Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape