The Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) recently conducted a survey of U.S. mobile users to learn more about what consumers are doing with their mobile devices, and how and where they are using them. The key results of the survey were covered well in a recent article by Matt Hamblen in Computerworld entitled Mobile Users Prefer Wi-Fi Over Cellular for Lower Cost, Speed, Reliability.
There were many interesting findings from the study, which I will cover in more depth in subsequent blogs. One of the most surprising findings, however, was just how much people are using Wi-Fi to connect their mobile devices to the Internet.
As the following figure shows, most mobile users are connecting their devices via Wi-Fi at some point, including 70 percent of smartphone owners. Approximately 50 percent of tablets, laptops, and eReaders are connecting exclusively through Wi-Fi. Although 30 percent of smartphone owners are connected only via the mobile network, the remaining 70 percent are supplementing mobile connectivity with Wi-Fi. In fact, on average, smartphone users use Wi-Fi one-third of the time to connect their devices to the Internet. Even more astounding is that, with the exception of smartphones, users would prefer to connect all of their devices via Wi-Fi. Given a choice, more than 80 percent of tablet, laptop, and eReader owners would either prefer Wi-Fi to mobile access, or have no preference. And, just over half of smartphone owners would prefer to use Wi-Fi, or are ambivalent about the two access networks.
When asked which network they preferred, respondents chose Wi-Fi across all network attributes with the exception of coverage. Also worth noting is that across most attributes, one-quarter of respondents saw no difference between the two networks. While Wi-Fi cannot compete with the now nearly ubiquitous coverage of cellular networks, what is remarkable is that people consider Wi-Fi easier to use and more reliable than mobile. And, despite the technical superiority of cellular mobility in the area of security, respondents clearly did not make this distinction. These data seem to indicate a huge gap between the technical reality and user perception across the key distinguishing attributes of the two access networks.
Mobile users are drawn to the speed and lower cost of Wi-Fi networks, but sometimes are challenged by the difficulty of locating access points and by variability in performance. Consumers are choosing Wi-Fi over mobile connectivity based on cost advantages and because it doesn’t impose data-usage caps or reduce their mobile data plan quotas. However, the top reason for choosing Wi-Fi, however, is that respondents find it much faster than mobile networks.
Cisco IBSG conducted its online survey of 1,079 U.S mobile users in March 2012. The study was also undertaken in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Full results of the survey can be downloaded here.
Future articles will highlight further key studies from the Cisco IBSG mobile user study.
About the Author
Stuart Taylor's further industry research, insights and perspectives can be found at his blog The Connected Life
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