Wi-Fi has been the buzz word for
2015, an expected ask from every public space in our country; a hotel without
Wi-Fi is unthinkable; our travel/everyday destinations are decided basis two
questions – mobile connectivity and Wi-Fi. Trust me, the need for Wi-Fi is on
its way to becoming synonymous with air and water – available and is taking!
Wi-Fi technology has taken the
telecom landscape by storm, reshaping and impacting strategies for many telcos
including Tata Teleservices. Moreover, Government of India’s Digital India
initiative, launched earlier this year, to ensure that Government services are
made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure
and by increasing Internet connectivity is expected to take flight in next few
years. So how will these developments and the accelerated roll out of
Wi-Fi in all forms, both on the device and network side, impact our lives in
2016 and beyond?
There are some very interesting
trends and innovations lined up next year. Here is a look:-
Fortifying the Transit
Airports and Railway Stations are
emerging as ideal locations for Wi-Fi consumption. This is true both in India
as well as internationally. We will continue to see this trend gain more
intensity in 2016.
Most of the Indian population
travels in these modes of transport, and this makes it a huge opportunity for
operators and carriers. Recently, an internet giant has already started the
ball rolling with a promise to provide free Wi-Fi at 500 Indian railway
stations. With more than 7000 stations and a daily footfall of 23 million
passengers a day, this space is quite likely to generate a lot of interest in
the coming years.
Smart up your homes
Here is a scenario, you are woken up in the morning with your favorite
song, the shower is ready the moment you step inside and goes off when you step
out, breakfast is made and clothes laundered and ready. You are happy and ready
for work. No, I am not talking about your spouse but, the house – the smart
house! This is the future of internet of things.
The notion of the internet connecting people and devices like never
before is undoubtedly an exciting and ubiquitous, secure and hassle-free Wi-Fi
connectivity is the key. Unlimited Wi-Fi will be provided as standard with both
hardware and software products, with people using it in the same way they use
3G/4G today – making smart homes and vehicles a reality.
Time shifted Video content -
(TV on Demand) here we come
Competition from mobile operators has forced
cable operators/set top box providers to provide more nomadic Internet access
by deploying Wi-Fi. A leading DTH operator has launched set-top boxes (STB) with
recording ability and Wi-Fi dongles to enable consumers to enjoy recorded
content on smartphones and tablets without consuming internet data. This is a
first of its kind innovation in line with current audiences who consume a large
part of their content online. We will most definitely see a lot of action in
this space next year.
Visualize a scenario – You have
40 minutes before your flight departure from airport. The Wi-Fi operator at the
airport offers you reasonable priced movie or site on download. You consume
this content on you smart-phone/tablet or your flight.
Next-generation Wi-Fi Calling
Companies have already began work on next generation Wi-Fi calling.
Apple’s iOS 9 provides Wi-Fi calling support. Google has announced Project Fi,
a Wi-Fi first model of delivering services where instead of the cellular
network being the traditional first network, you subscribe to a plan which has
Wi-Fi as the core network and cellular as the backup. Wi-Fi calling may have
been around for quite some time but we can expect some innovative solutions
coming up in this space next year when the operators and OTTs start working
together to revamp voice calling.
Rise of LBS
The demand for location-based
technology is evolving in India as it personalizes the Wi-Fi experience.
Learning more about users provides Telcos with a wealth of data for different
marketing activities. It is a useful tool for retailers to create an engaging
shopping experience for their customers. Also fueling the shopping experience
are the large number of malls in Tier 1 and 2 cities, which open to the concept of public Wi-Fi services. In
2016, LBS will enable new features and opportunities around local search,
retail, social networking and advertising.
Innovative and socially
impacting uses of Wi-Fi technology
One of the most interesting uses of Wi-Fi technology was built by a young
entrepreneur duo from Mumbai – A Wi-Fi Trash Bin! The duo created a simple
trash bin where as soon as someone puts in a required amount of trash, the bin
generates a Wi-Fi pass code which gives the person free Wi-Fi. The
dustbin uses multiple technologies. The first is the Wi-Fi technology, optimize
to make sure that all the generated codes work properly. The second is the technology
used for motion sensing and figuring out how the trash comes in and its
movement. And the third is the entire bridge between the motion sensor and the
Wi-Fi network to ensure that they connect at the right time. This simply shows
that a technology like Wi-Fi is simple and effective and can be used for social
impact and development initiatives as a part of the Smart City and Digital
India campaigns.
Wi-Fi offloading becomes an
imperative
As more and more service providers decide to roll out 3G and 4G in 2016,
to tackle bandwidth and large scale use, service providers will rely more on
Wi-Fi offloading. Wi-Fi offloading is expected to become more intutive in 2016,
with traffic steering allowing the devices to connect to Wi-Fi only under
optimal conditions. Wi-Fi might become an equal network in the heterogeneous
network concept, where the main focus will be providing the best possible
service experience and performance to the end-users.
Wi-Fi technology is a very good
tool to provide seamless service experience and performance to the regardless
of networks. 2016 might just take this technology to a hitherto unknown level
of innovation.
This article is written by Mr. Sunil Tandon, Head - Non Voice Services, Tata Teleservices
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