May I Borrow a Cup of WiFi?

At one time, a knock on the door was from a friend or neighbor looking to borrow some sugar or the hedge trimmer. Today, more often than not, that knock represents someone stopping by for a visit and asking to “borrow” your home network to connect to the Internet.

U.S. consumers carry an average of 2.6 mobile devices, according to recent research by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).  Not only do they expect their devices to connect to the Internet—they also expect friends and neighbors to have home Wi-Fi, just as they have electricity and running water.

Many service providers are now trying to understand how they can create community Wi-Fi networks among their broadband customers and reap new business benefits.  However, they have very little research on customer behaviors that will enable them to design a winning program and build the business case for further investment.  To learn more, Cisco IBSG conducted a survey of 1,060 Canadian mobile users to understand their needs and behaviors, their current and future mobile usage, and the average profile of community Wi-Fi users.

Results and detail are discussed in an IBSG-produced paper titled “May I Borrow a Cup of Wi-Fi? — How Community Wi-Fi Is Significantly Expanding the Ability To Connect Everywhere”.

The paper can be found in the Service Provider Thought Leadership section of the IBSG website.  At this site, you will find many interesting, provocative papers on various subjects relating to the service provider segment.

Check it out . . .