Future Of Wi-Fi -- The WSJ -- March 2, 2019

Of all the non-energy stories I've blogged about over the past eleven years, this one is one of my favorite. Years ago when visiting the local Apple store -- out in California -- I mentioned to the young millennial (though no one knew what a "millennial" was back then) that "some day wi-fi would be everywhere and it would be free everywhere." He disagreed saying that no one would ever leave that much money on the table by not charging for wi-fi.

Fast forward ten years: wi-fi is everywhere and for the most part wi-fi is completely free.

I was unaware that a war was brewing but it goes back to what that millennial said many years ago: "no one would leave that much money on the table."

And that seems to be the case. The telecommunications folks are eager to see wi-fi disappear so that they can charge you and me extravagant fees for 5G.

From The WSJ this weekend: 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.

Look at this:

“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.

In fact, Apple does exactly that, offering tablets and iPods that are wi-fi only and they've done that for years.

Great, great article. Worth archiving.