According to Parks Associates, almost 70% of U.S. broadband households express interest in WiFi-based mobile service plans if such plans can save them money. However, those who don't want WiFi may be more significant. Among those having no interest, 38% believe that WiFi connections are unsafe and that their data would be vulnerable to hacking. Nearly 40% aren't interested because they are satisfied with their current mobile phone plan.
"Despite substantial consumer interest, WiFi-based mobile phone services need to overcome significant hurdles, specifically the fears of data insecurity. Consumers are also worried about the inconvenience of searching for WiFi hotspots and experiencing gaps in public WiFi coverage," said Harry Wang, Parks' director of Health & Mobile Product Research. "At MWC, we expect to see roadmaps from leading mobile operators to build better next-generation networks with mixed use of WiFi, small-cell, and 4G/Pre-5G cellular technologies to launch both consumer and enterprise mobility services."
Other findings indicate:
- Smartphone penetration has reached 86% of U.S. broadband households
- 39% of smartphone owners use some sort of voice recognition software such as Siri or Google Now
- 36% of smartphone users use WiFi calling
