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Why Wi-Fi will be your FIRST choice for connectivity

By iPass Staff Writer

Why Wi-Fi will be your FIRST choice for connectivityIt’s 2002 and you’ve just picked up your brand new shiny Nokia 3310 to make a quick call to your family before you hop on a plane to visit a client. Fast-forward to 2015 and chances are you’re probably not still using your Nokia 3310 to keep in contact, or even using the same network provider these days.

The ability to stay connected over the last two decades has changed enormously – in the past you were  forced to choose between a handful of cellular companies who could keep you connected; now we’ve moved on and technology has advanced.  There’s a new player in town set to disrupt the market, once again – this time it is Wi-Fi Calling. The introduction of Wi-Fi calling has truly shifted connectivity control into the hands of end-users.  Just look at some of the most popular apps on the market – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Viber –  all of these can be used over Wi-Fi to allow for calling, messaging  and overall connectivity at the cheapest rates available. In most cases these forms of communication are free, making it no surprise these third party connectivity apps are experiencing rapid user adoption, and are a catalyst for even more rapid growth in the Wi-Fi market.  This trend is clearly here to stay and is creating a serious challenge for cellular companies to compete.  Wi-Fi first!

Imagine traveling to Europe from the United States and all you want to do is make that quick call home to check in and let your mum know you landed safely. Flashback to 15 years ago and it was a nightmare – you probably bought pre-paid minutes or were likely to incur ridiculously high roaming rates in order to just reassure her you’ve landed safely. Now, all you need to do is get to a Wi-Fi hotspot and you can contact her at the touch of button. Wi-Fi hotspots are available everywhere – just take a look at our Wi-Fi growth map if you don’t believe us!

Whilst some hotspots are free, most are not, and the level of security available can vary from hotspot to hotspot. So how should you think of Wi-Fi?  Imagine Wi-Fi as a teenager on the cusp of adulthood but still in that awkward stage of trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in – give them a couple of years and they’ll soon mature.  Apply this to Wi-Fi and it means there are still some challenges that need to be resolved.  Wi-Fi is not the end all be all connectivity solution – but it is getting there.

But what you really want to know is – what differentiates Wi-Fi and 3G/4G?  And the simple answer is security.  Whilst there has been a lot of publicity about the lack of security on Wi-Fi networks, it all comes down to awareness  The simple fact is Wi-Fi networks can be unsecure and if you are not aware which networks are secure it’s likely you will be susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks. Most people are aware of the obvious risk with sending sensitive information across unsecured networks and frankly it’s not surprising that this discourages end users from trusting Wi-Fi fully.  But what if you could connect to any and every Wi-Fi hotspot securely?  This would create a whole host of opportunities! Want to check your online banking while you are on the go?  You’re covered. Want to send that confidential document to a client? Go ahead you are secure.

With iPass that is exactly what you get. Access to over 19 million hotspots to use however you want, as much as you want, with the added level of security you expect from any cellular connection.  So now, with iPass, you are that much closer to being able to use Wi-Fi for all of your connectivity needs. You are already familiar with the benefits of Wi-Fi, so why not now enjoy iPass UNLIMITED Wi-Fi.