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August 31, 2009

Dramatic Public Wi-Fi Usage Changes in 2009

By Gary Kim, Contributing Editor

If the results of a new survey are correct, there has been a dramatic change in use of public Wi-Fi hotspots because of smart phone adoption, a stunning shift in devices used to access bandwidth and a shift in activities conducted at public Wi-Fi hotspots.



 
The number of mobile devices using Wi-Fi hotspots grew by 79 percent in the first half of 2009, JiWire (News - Alert) says. And that might be the least-interesting of the findings.
 
Though the statistic likely will shock most people, the Apple (News - Alert) iPhone and iPod Touch collectively represent 97.8 percent of all mobile device connections, JiWire says. That's a rather shocking usage pattern for devices that represent perhaps a quarter of all U.S. smart phone devices in use.
 
JiWire's survey suggests that most Wi-Fi hotspot users are in cafes and coffee shops close to where they live. About 83 percent of users connect to Wi-Fi hostpots locally in their own neighborhood. But 40 percent are business decision makers with management titles, 23 percent have C-level or VP titles, and 44 percent are in small- to mid-sized businesses.
 
About 38 percent of cafe users make an online purchase during their visits. That particular finding might shock you as much as the detail that 98 percent of Wi-Fi hotspot users were on iPhones or iTouch devices.
 
If accurate, mobile device users now exhibit behaviors far different from what once might have been assumed: that people are checking email or doing work, JiWire suggests. But the survey also suggests that 40 percent of cafe Wi-Fi users are management-title workers also suggests that recreational uses now rival simple email access functions.
 
“The findings completely challenge the assumption that this is a task-oriented audience just checking e-mail or doing work," says   Kevin McKenzie, JiWire CEO.
 
JiWire’s study is based on data from approximately 275,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and a supplemental survey of 2057 customers randomly selected in over 6,500 café locations across the United States, between April and June 2009.

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Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Gary’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tim Gray


 







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