Survey Reveals US Consumer Interest in More Wi-Fi Services from Mobile Operators
Mobile users increasingly embracing Wi-Fi seeking better coverage, cheaper caller options
Milpitas, Calif., July 26, 2011 – Seventy four percent of smartphone users in the United States are interested in a mobile operator-provided service that uses Wi-Fi to provide lower cost calls, according to a recent MarketTools Zoomerang survey of 420 smartphone owners. The survey, commissioned by Kineto Wireless, also showed 72 percent of smartphone users are interested in an application that uses Wi-Fi to improve cellular coverage.
Additional highlights from the online survey conducted May 2011 include:
• Nearly nine out of ten (89%) of respondents have smartphones with Wi-Fi.
• 77 percent have Wi-Fi at home; 54 percent have it at their place of work.
• 62 percent of people who own smartphones with Wi-Fi use the Wi-Fi four or more days each week.
• 30 percent say they use Wi-Fi because it is faster than the cellular network; 19 percent because it is easy to access the internet.
• 30 percent have smartphones with a Google Android operating system (OS); 26 percent use Apple iPhone OS; and 22 percent use a RIM OS.
• 44 percent of iPhone owners would “definitely” be interested in an application that could be used to boost mobile coverage; and 47 percent would “definitely” be interested in a Wi-Fi service offering discounted calling.
• Of T-Mobile subscribers, 55 percent use Wi-Fi on their smartphones four or more days each week or every day, 24 percent because it is easy to access the internet.
• Of AT&T subscribers, 68 percent of AT&T subscribers use Wi-Fi on their smartphones four or more days each week or every day, 32 percent because it is faster than the cellular network.
“Wi-Fi has become pervasive in the smartphone market, and subscribers are interested in options that help them take better advantage of Wi-Fi for coverage and cheaper calling,” said Steve Shaw, vice president of marketing for Kineto Wireless. “This data helps reiterate the market opportunities for mobile operators. With Kineto’s Smart Wi-Fi Application, they can improve service quality and develop subscriber-friendly services that drive mobile data offload.”
T-Mobile is the most aggressive of the US operators with its use of Wi-Fi to reduce churn by addressing in-building coverage and increasing data offload. In October 2010, the company re-launched its Wi-Fi Calling service and has had tremendous success, with people saying “Wi-Fi Calling is superb,” “…brilliantly simple…” and “I live and die by Wi-Fi Calling.” The company continues to add Smart Wi-Fi-enabled, latest and greatest Android smartphones from a variety of phone manufacturers.
This survey was commissioned by Kineto Wireless, the key innovator and leading supplier of Smart Wi-Fi solutions for mobile operators, and fielded by MarketTools, Inc., a leader in software and services for market research and customer feedback. A more comprehensive look at the US survey results can be viewed at Kineto.com.
About MarketTools Zoomerang
Zoomerang, a product of MarketTools, Inc., is a fast, easy-to-use and powerful tool to make and send your own online surveys and polls. Millions of people and thousands of businesses, non-profits and educational institutions trust Zoomerang online surveys and polls to gather feedback, allowing them to make better decisions with minimal cost and effort. Zoomerang provides customizable survey templates for the most common questions including customer satisfaction, meeting feedback, product feedback, event planning, online voting and hundreds more. Zoomerang customers can take advantage of Zoomerang Sample, a panel of more than 2.5 million consumers ready to take surveys. For more information, visit www.zoomerang.com. For more information about MarketTools, Inc., please visit http://www.markettools.com.
About Kineto Wireless
Kineto Wireless is the key innovator and leading supplier of Smart Wi-Fi solutions for mobile operators. The company’s solutions enable mobile operators to turn more than 200 million existing public and private Wi-Fi access points into seamless extensions of their mobile networks. With Smart Wi-Fi, subscribers can receive all their mobile services over Wi-Fi instead of the macro network, boosting indoor coverage and improving the mobile data experience, while securely offloading the mobile network. The company’s Smart Wi-Fi products and services, based on the 3GPP UMA/GAN standard, have been deployed by mobile operators around the world. Kineto customers and partners include HTC, Huawei, LG Electronics, Motorola, Orange, RIM, Rogers Wireless, SFR, Samsung, T-Mobile and ZTE. For more information, please visit kineto.com and follow Kineto at twitter.com/kinetowireless.
