Cellphone Carriers Envision World Without Wi-Fi
Verizon calls Wi-Fi ‘rubbish,’ but providers say it is cheaper and ‘getting smarter’
Cellphone companies can’t quit Wi-Fi just yet, though not for lack of trying. Cheap and unburdened by regulations governing mobile-phone service, Wi-Fi networks have grown from a coffee-shop perk to near ubiquity. There will be more than 549 million global public and cable company-run hot spots by 2022, contributing to a technology that accounts for more than half of all internet traffic, according to equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc.
At the same time, telecom executives say fifth-generation cellular technology could drive more data and revenue onto their networks. One of 5G’s top selling points is its ability to more cheaply link swarms of machines to cellphone networks.
Ronan Dunne, head of Verizon Communications Inc.’s new consumer-focused unit, says many customers should be able to get rid of Wi-Fi at home once 5G is rolled out and new technologies spread its signal throughout homes.
“Wi-Fi’s rubbish,” Mr. Dunne said in an interview. “It’s terrible. A lot of homes now, you switch off your Wi-Fi because your actual LTE signal is better,” he added, referring to the current generation of wireless networks.
Wireless hot-spot makers are working to fight that perception. Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade group for device makers, recently introduced Wi-Fi 6 as the industry designation for the next Wi-Fi generation. The group said the new technology, also known as 802.11ax, will make the latest hot spots’ improvements in speed and reliability easier for consumers to recognize.
Wi-Fi 6 boasts faster peak download speeds—a maximum 9.6 gigabits per second is quick enough to download a high-definition movie in a few seconds and several times faster than what early 5G specifications will offer. But device makers stress that the upgrade’s biggest benefit will come from the way new hot spots juggle clusters of cellphones, laptops and smart home gadgets that use the network at once.
“Wi-Fi and cellular technologies have been and will continue to be strong complements to each other,” Alliance marketing executive Kevin Robinson said, but “Wi-Fi is going to be that workhorse. No other technology can deliver the affordable performance in the home.”
A completely cellular-connected world would also be years away because manufacturers would need to replace almost all the internet-connected machines on the market. A cellular chip adds to the cost of any piece of electronics from a $1,000 tablet to a low-cost Amazon Echo, and most internet-capable gadgets don’t yet have one. By contrast, there are more than 30 billion Wi-Fi-capable devices in the wild, according to Wi-Fi Alliance.
Sitting in the middle are electronics makers like Cisco, Broadcom Inc., Qualcomm Inc., which also supply cellphone carriers with electronics and software. No company is likely to declare an early winner in the tug of war between the dueling connection types.
“I think the jury’s still out,” Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s chief executive, said in an interview. “There’s certainly a lot of downstream discussion about it.” Hot spots are so common, he added, that it makes sense to buy a device like a Wi-Fi-only computer tablet that isn’t likely to travel where a signal can’t be found.
Cellphone carriers’ strategy is also complicated by their dependence on Wi-Fi to relieve some of the pressure their private networks face in crowded areas. AT&T Inc. recently reached a deal that lets more of its cellphone customers use Boingo Wireless Inc.’s Wi-Fi service in airports, stadiums and other public places. The arrangement relies on the Passpoint system, which makes switching networks easier by automatically signing users into secured Wi-Fi networks.
Likewise, AT&T says its 5G service will eventually link an array of machines in shops, factories and offices. But for now, the company leans on the unlicensed wireless technology to serve customers.
Wi-Fi owes its popularity to simplicity and low cost. It works indoors where some outside cell signals can’t reach. Devices using the standard don’t need an individual subscriber-identity module, or SIM card, to reach the internet. But many networks aren’t secured with a password, leaving them less safe for users.
Even secured Wi-Fi access points are only designed to handle 250 connections at once. A much more expensive cellular base station could handle several hundred more links under certain circumstances.
Both technologies also need a broader range of radio frequencies to keep up with the public’s demand for video, which gobbles up internet bandwidth. Cellphone carriers spent the past week at MWC Barcelona, a mobile-technology convention, calling for government authorities to quickly grant them more wireless spectrum licenses. Wi-Fi equipment makers also pushed U.S. and European officials to stake out a new band of wireless spectrum around 6 gigahertz to give unlicensed networks more breathing room.
Boingo technology chief Derek Peterson said Wi-Fi has staying power. More carefully managed networks don’t suffer from the reliability problems many people associate with a weak signal beaming from a cafe corner, he said. Boingo grades networks’ dependability, for instance, to let smartphones and laptops automatically pick the strongest signal. Smartphone makers like Samsung Electronics Co. are making devices that recognize environmental cues, like when someone is driving, to toggle Wi-Fi connections.
“Wi-Fi is getting smarter,” he said.