The continued expansion of the use of wireless technology and the ever-increasing demand of users for content, led a diverse group of companies to create a new alliance.
A total of 18 companies, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Google and Microsoft, have formed a coalition to expand access to Wi-Fi networks. The alliance, called WifiForward, will try to pressure the US government to release more spectrum to meet the needs of content delivery.
Until now, each company participating in WifiForward has been pushing in the same direction individually. With the combination of forces being attempted, there is hope for greater success. By increasing the available frequency spectrum for Wi-Fi transmissions, the ever-growing needs in the United States will be met.
According to Cisco Systems, the average American consumed 1.4GB of content per month in 2013. Of this amount of data, 57% was transmitted over Wi-Fi networks. It is estimated that by 2018, the amount of data consumed in the US per month per user will reach 9GB, with 64% of this total being transmitted over Wi-Fi networks.
Notable is the absence of mobile service providers from the alliance's ranks. In particular, companies such as AT&T and Verizon prefer to capitalize on the investments they have made in the recent past in creating autonomous LTE (4G) networks.
On the contrary, Google, which is leading the creation of WifiForward, has made significant investments in the field of Wi-Fi technology. Indicatively, in the United States, Google, in collaboration with other companies, has created 250,000 hotspots (wireless Internet access points). In addition, Microsoft, like Google, believe that improving access to Wi-Fi networks will give a significant boost to areas such as Cloud Computing and the provision of services via the Internet (Web services).
Source: naftemporiki.gr
