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Will Wi-Fi First Really Disrupt the Mobile Industry?
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Will Wi-Fi First Really Disrupt the Mobile Industry?

Heinz Bernold, Alexander Dahlke, Rüdiger Schicht and Maikel Wilms
Boston Consulting Group, 2015
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Wi-Fi First is a new mobile model where Wi-Fi is the main network, and cellular is secondary. This, some argue, will trigger a paradigm shift in the mobile industry: A shift toward Wi-Fi and its significantly lower costs would allow entirely new players in the market. The Boston Consulting Group has evaluated the potential of Wi-Fi First and the risks and opportunities for the mobile industry. If you’re interested in what your cellphone service could look like in the future, this is an interesting read. However, getAbstract recommends this concise synthesis of where the mobile industry is heading mainly to mobile industry leaders and technology developers.

Summary

Wi-Fi First is a model wherein mobile devices connect to a network primarily through Wi-Fi; your device will resort to cellular only when Wi-Fi is not available. The cost advantages make the model attractive for consumers. The leading Wi-Fi First player, Republic Wireless, for example, tripled its customer base in 2014. However, despite exponential growth, Republic Wireless had fewer than one million customers compared with 121.7 million AT&T customers and 108.5 million Verizon users.

Already, a large percentage of mobile data is transmitted via...

About the Authors

Heinz Bernold, Alexander Dahlke, Rüdiger Schicht and Maikel Wilms work for The Boston Consulting Group.

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