That sounds like a loaded question doesn’t it.  By hearing that question out of context, one would most likely answer yes.  Now let me bring it into context.  A recent CNN article reported two malls in the US are axing programs that would track and survey shoppers in their venues through their mobile phones.  The creators of the technology iterate that personal data like name or phone number aren’t captured.  What are tracked though are movements which could be used to analyze shopping patterns and any other qualitative information such as survey answers which can also be collected.

Now assuming your data is anonymized, would you still be ok with a retailer tracking and communicating with you?  What if through these mobile means, you would be able to receive in-store coupons or incentives?  What if the opt-in/opt-out process were more obvious?  If the privacy concerns are eased, wouldn’t these incentives add value to the customer shopping experience?

The proprietors of this mobile technology, Path Intelligence, compare it to online retail tracking.  Online retailers are able to track customer habits, purchases and the overall user experience while still protecting the privacy of their consumers.  By this rationale, it seems to make sense.  Although I do believe people still need the perception of choice.  By allowing an opt-out mechanism, this at least gives a shopper the ability to not participate in this engagement.

The mobile touchpoint and content streaming through it is not just a headache for wireless operators but for the downstream players such as retailers who choose to leverage the power of wireless connectivity and growing mobile device usage.  Free wireless for all I say but it’s situations like this that make one cautious and think about the rules and structure around the idea.

Read the CNN article here:  http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/28/news/economy/malls_track_shoppers_cell_phones/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3&hpt=hp_c1

The holidays are almost here and Black Friday, a retail phenomenon during the holiday season, signifies the kickoff of retail madness.  That day is slowly being overshadowed by Cyber Monday, the following Monday where retailers are encouraging customers to shop online.  As stores are trying to find other selling channels and methods to attract customers, mobile commerce is soon becoming relevant to the retail industry.

Now where does Wi-Fi fit in all of this?  Wi-Fi has already been a common staple in coffee shops and various eating establishments.  In fact, whenever one walks into a Starbucks or McDonalds, it’s almost expected to see someone browsing the internet on their laptop, tablet or smartphone.  Scanning the 5 million global hotspots in the Devicescape Virtual Network, I can see that’s it’s more than just coffee shops or fast food restaurants.    I’m surprised to learn that retailers like Home Depot, Macy’s and Safeway are constantly showing up in the network.

So what does this mean?  It means that Wi-Fi is more pervasive that we think.  It means that it’s not just in your home or at some select store.  It means that retailers are giving access to their Wi-Fi network to add customer value and provide another means of shopping within the store, whether it entail price checking, product availability or advertising opportunities.

In a recent Retail Gazette article, a UK phone retailer announced in-store Wi-Fi to allow customers to demo live web surfing when browsing smartphones.   Its actions like these that can make or break a sale.  If product demonstration isn’t the goal, how else can Wi-Fi be leveraged to provide a positive customer experience?  The obvious reasons are price checking and product comparisons but the hidden gem in in-store Wi-Fi is mobile marketing.  Imagine walking into a clothing store and all of a sudden receiving a discount offer on shoes or walking into a supermarket and receiving text coupons on your smartphone.  The ability to advertise, upsell and encourage consumers who walk through the doors and immediately connect to a retailer’s network is huge.

Getting consumers to understand that Wi-Fi is everywhere is undoubtedly a challenge.  But I think for that to happen, retailers will first need to be convinced that it will only add value, if not revenue to their businesses.  Without this penetration, we’ll go on to think that Wi-Fi is only a luxury meant for coffee houses and select restaurants.  Well, judging by the amount of people that buy coffee and sit in a Starbucks for hours on end, I’m sure management at this multi-billion dollar company isn’t complaining that they’re one of the few companies on the block getting people to walk through their doors to buy coffee and use their free Wi-Fi connection.  Time for retailers to take note!

Chalk it up as another banner quarter for Devicescape.  On the heels of growing to over 4 million hotspots globally, Devicescape just released its Q3 2011 Wi-Fi report.  What’s interesting about this quarter’s report is that I’m seeing some wavering in service provider loyalty.  Being a long-time Verizon Wireless subscriber myself, I assumed that most people were like me and would be resistant to carrier switching.  Unless of course it’s a hardware matter such as getting an iPhone but that has become irrelevant since Verizon now carries that smartphone.

Data capping has become more and more of a subscriber concern over the last year with major carriers announcing intentions to get rid of unlimited data plans.  Although the reality is that most people don’t come close to the proposed plan caps, the idea of taking away consumer value from their plans is perceived as a hit to the consumer experience.  In the Devicescape report, 88% of respondents said that unlimited data plan offers would sway purchasing decisions.  If the mobile operators want to avoid carrier switching, they better come up with some solutions and educate their subscribers.  Data usage is only going to increase over time as rich content such as movies will get more data intensive.

One obvious and cost effective solution to this potential problem is data offloading.  If the network operators can offload data to existing Wi-Fi networks whereby subscribers come nowhere near their data caps, the matter of capping and unlimited plans will eventually become a non-issue.  And as a result, subscriber retention will increase.

There are more interesting statistics like this in the current report.  Below are other findings we uncovered:

• Almost 82 percent of respondents say that Wi-Fi is very important when it comes to using a smartphone or tablet, while only 4.9 percent say it is not important.

• Wi-Fi takes the lead over cellular networks, with 88 percent of respondents agreeing that rich media such as video runs much faster on Wi-Fi.

• A staggering 82.9 percent of respondents expect their service provider to provide them with a Wi-Fi network.

• Twenty-six percent of respondents are not aware that many service providers are data-capping smartphone plans.

• Wi-Fi hotspots are clearly in demand, with 78.7 percent of respondents relying on Wi-Fi hotspots for device connectivity needs while roaming.

To view the full report, download a copy using the link below.

http://www.devicescape.com/assets/docs/DevicescapeQ32011WiFiReport.pdf

I’m sure many of you have heard that the World Broadband Alliance just released their report titled “Global Developments in Public Wi-Fi”.  If you haven’t seen the report, you may have read one of the many articles that cite its many statistics.  The most significant statistic that’s been brought to our attention is the projected number of hotspots by 2015.  WBA projects 5.8 million hotspots. (We at Devicescape can confidently say there are significantly more but that’s a whole different discussion).  The point being is that WiFi is pervasive.  We all expected that though.

Blogger Kevin Sandlin on the CWNP blog  poses an interesting question.  What will the state of WiFi be like beyond 2015?  He cites the WBA report, a Cisco report on their Networking Index and Forecasts, and IDC data.  In my view he doesn’t make any bold predictions but he does point out something interesting.

From the Cisco report, he states that by 2015, WiFi will consume 37.2 exabytes of data versus 37 exabytes for wired and 6 exabytes for cellular.  The traffic over WiFi is 6x that of cellular.  So “mobility” as we know it today will really just be WiFi down the road.

I think that’s an interesting viewpoint and something that Devicescape hopes to be a part of in 2015 and beyond.  As Kevin Sandlin so casually states, “All three of these reports also reflect the fact that it’s a great time to be in the Wi-Fi world.  Can’t wait to see what will happen after 2015. The next few years are going to be fun…if you’re in the Wi-Fi world.”

That’s great to hear.  It means I may still have a job.

Here’s a link to Kevin’s Blog Post on CWNP:  http://www.cwnp.com/cwnp_wifi_blog/what-happens-in-wi-fi-after-2015

The importance of the iPhone to next generation devices is profound and therefore the importance of this device to us at Devicescape is likewise monumental. By all accounts, the iPhone recorded sales of 5.4 million devices in its first 10 months. Some say this is equal to the number of devices Nokia sells in a week, so why all the hub-bub about iPhone and not Nokia?

The iPhone isn’t just a mobile phone. It’s in a special category of “smartphone” – and it charged out of the gate and captured 28% of the smartphone market within 6 months of launch. That’s a pretty spectacular market share for a new entrant into a fairly well established market.

And the iPhone isn’t just stealing away existing marketshare – its expanding the market for smartphones and increasing demand. This smartphone market had been largely aimed at business and enterprise users and the iPhone is really aimed at traditional Apple markets – cools and creatives. This has opened up the smartphone market to new audiences that have not previously been targets. Called the “iPhone Effect” by industry analysts, ABI Research now predicts that the smartphone market will grow from around 10 per cent of total handset sales in 2007 to 31 per cent in 2013 driven by the iPhone. At Devicescape, we’ve seen our own iPhone Effect. A member survey completed in June (just before the launch of the iPhone) showed that 5% of Devicescape members were students. In December of 2007 – this was up to 24% – driven largely by the iPhone. These same students then later helped us add hundreds of universities to our network – which further drove university and student uptake. The very fact that the iPhone is driving students into the smartphone market is pretty cool for everyone – including Nokia and RIM. These companies actually benefit by the eduction Apple is bring to the market about what a smartphone is – and who its for.

Today Steve jobs stood on a stage in San Francisco and brought out the next gen iPhone – starting at $199 – and students around the world pricked up their ears to listen. And the rest of us – as students of devices – would be wise to pay attention. Our world just got bigger and the bar just got higher.

It’s always so fabulous when a customer completely understands the value of what you provide and even shares the vision of what you are striving to deliver in the future. A recent post to the Off Beat Mammal site so perfectly defines the Devicescape value proposition that I want to share it. Check out this post titled: “Never Log on to a Hotspot Again” where Off Beat Mammal writes:

“I’m hoping one day to be able to go anywhere in the world and not have to think about connecting but just enjoy ubiquitous connectivity with services like Devicescape performing magic in the background.”

Thank you Off Beat Mammal – for the post and for getting the vision of what we do and sharing the vision of where we are going!