Carrier Wi-Fi provider Fon has partnerships with a number of global carriers that enable it to create global Wi-Fi networks and help operators deliver Wi-Fi services.
RCR Wireless News caught up with Fon COO Enrique Farfán for a Q&A on trends in the Wi-Fi market: in particular, use cases for Wi-Fi, the influence of analytics, and how the relationship of licensed and unlicensed spectrum is changing. Read the interview, conducted via email, below:
RCR: What trends and strategies do you see the industry is adopting to improve the Wi-Fi user experience?
There are two aspects to user experience, and they usually get lumped together even if they are fundamentally different. The first is the experience the user undergoes when trying to connect to a network or moving between networks, and the second is the actual quality of service that you get once you have connected.
I think the adoption of standards like Hotspot 2.0, or the 802.11 standards for network handover, is going to eventually address the connectivity piece. Now, the decision of which network will be best for you to connect to– that’s more complicated, because there are different interests at hand. Everyone wants you to use their network because they get paid for it, and that has to be addressed at a different level if we want all these networks to play nicely. There are differences between Android and iOS on how much you can do with the device. To try to own the user’s individual experience is challenging for all parties involved.
Now, about the second one, the quality of service aspect. I think an important effort will go into converting all these networks that a user might be exposed to, into managed networks. And these are not only public or venue networks, but also those that use homespots. I think we will soon see the battle for the home heat up, with the service providers on one side and OTT providers like Google on the other trying to make the user experience better. It requires a network expert to get Wi-Fi to work with an acceptable level of quality in our homes, so it is a real problem that needs to be addressed. With all these scenarios for channel interference, multiple network availability, etc. I foresee that having managed networks will be key to improving the quality of service for the end user.
RCR: What role do you see analytics playing in both Wi-Fi services and in network management?
Well, we see a lot of interest from our customers in extracting as much information as possible from Wi-Fi. And yes, the purpose can be two-fold, as you said. For Network management we clearly see the value. For example, our technology (usually in the form of an operator-branded app) is present in hundreds of thousands of cellphones and we are able to provide very detailed information about the coverage, quality and usage of our customer’s networks. This data helps them plan coverage, understand usage and pinpoint issues. So we clearly see the benefit from the network management standpoint.
Now from the services point of view, there is definitely an interest on the part of brands, venues and operators to collect information to provide services. Now the key question here is, what services will they provide? Because nowadays, many applications we see are fairly basic and I’m not sure if we’re really solving big problems here. Is it revolutionary that someone at a football stadium can find the concession stand? I think we all do pretty well finding our way. We also hear a lot about small businesses wanting to learn more about their customers, but is this information we’re giving them actionable? Can I really charge the store owner a premium on an ongoing basis to tell them that 35% of his customers return? Or that 15% pass by his store and don’t enter? How does he merge this data with all the rest of the data he has? Who is going to do that for him? Not sure.
I think we are still at the stage where people want the information, but not many have figured out how to really make a difference with it as far as providing services goes. Do we really want to be walking in the mall and getting a pop-up on our phone from each store that we walk by? Not the most useful. So I anticipate that many more people will be putting effort into leveraging analytics and figuring out more interesting use cases of the technology. When that information can be built into a service, then we will start seeing all its potential because there is a fantastic opportunity in analytics. For services, it has to be actionable and we have to show there’s value in it. For now, we see people just want to collect the data and lots of arguments about who should own the data which doesn’t seem to be really productive.
RCR: Which Wi-Fi use cases do you see most relevant in the future?
I think the neutral host model, or Wi-Fi-as-a-Service if you wish, is going to be very relevant. I gave a talk at the Wireless Broadband Alliance Summit recently about this. It is a model in which all the parties involved win, which is fairly rare. The neutral host basically deploys the infrastructure and leases it back to the service providers and the venue owner. And here a venue can be something like an office building or an apartment complex. We are familiar with the days where you moved into an office building and the first thing you had to do is lay down all your communications infrastructure, set up access points. Same thing for apartment buildings for example. I believe that we are not too far from being able to move in and just “turn on” Wi-Fi in your new residence and office, same as turning on electricity.
Another use case that will become popular is that operators acquire the role of managed service provider. It is a natural expansion for them if they don’t want to be relegated to just a communications pipe. Given that connectivity is a commodity, the value is in the services you can offer over Wi-Fi (whether it’s analytics-based service or content-based services) and they are in a good position to deliver them. They are already present in millions of homes and businesses. For example, I think they can play a role enabling security in communications. We say that IoT is going to play a significant role in many homes, do you really think that your electricity meter information is going to travel over unmanaged Wi-Fi networks secured with a simple password? I think there will be many applications like that.
RCR: What do you think the relationship of licensed vs. unlicensed spectrum will be as the industry moves forward?
I think they will coexist. In fact, it is in the industry’s best interests to coexist. There will be different applications where a licensed technology is better and others where unlicensed is preferred. If anything, what we see is more prevalence of unlicensed technologies nowadays. In fact, we see operators moving into the unlicensed space with LTE-U and LAA; they must be finding some advantages in moving to that spectrum. Unlicensed also brings opportunities to new players that didn’t have the money or access to licensed spectrum to expand their business and become in a way, service providers. I think that will prove a very interesting trend to monitor.
For more information on trends in Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum, download RCR Wireless News’ recent special report and check out the accompanying webinar.
