As mobile broadband providers such as Verizon and AT&T push data caps onto its subscribers, consumers are finding ways to limit the amount of data they use at home and on the go, according to a Free Press report. Most of this is being done at Wi-Fi hotspots around the country or at home through internet providers. According to a new survey from Devicescape, 64 percent of consumers surveyed use a hot spot at least once a day and 89.8 percent use Wi-Fi at home and when on the go.
The data comes from Devicescape's Wi-Fi Report, which it conducts on a quarterly basis. Devicescape develops software that helps devices connect "seamlessly to Wi-Fi networks," and polls its customers every three months for their opinions and usage statistics.
Other highlights from the latest survey:
- 24.4 percent of users who utlilze Wi-Fi outside their home or office connect at a café or coffee shop, while 17.3 percent use Wi-Fi hot spots at hotels and 15 percent at a school campus.
- 72.9 percent of respondents say they will switch carriers if faced with data capping.
- 80 percent will adjust downloading habits if data capping is introduced by their carrier.
- 82 percent of respondents expect Wi-Fi hot spots to be included in their overall data plan.
Free Press points out comments made by Cisco earlier this year that the average mobile user will consume around 1,185 MB of data per month by 2015. That’s far more than the 250 MB that AT&T claimed that 65 percent of its customers used when it switched from unlimited use to tiered mobile broadband plans...
Source: gigaom.com by way of FreePress.org
Comments
Re: Wi-Fi Hot Spot Usage Up as Providers Cap Data
Now we just need to wait for the news to tell us that Spotpass and Streetpass are being used by pedophiles to get to kids.
Re: Wi-Fi Hot Spot Usage Up as Providers Cap Data
And yet, ISPs also have caps in place now. So, there isn't much of an escape on the horizon as the screws tighten from the likes of Comcast.