Wi-Fi Will Never Be a Replacement for Mobile Networks

One occasionally will still hear communications industry observers bemoaning or hoping for a future where Wi-Fi is both ubiquitous, affordable and interoperable, so users will not need to buy mobile services. One hears that a lot less than 10 years ago, but the sentiment still is expressed now and then.

The idea of seamless connectivity between Wi-Fi networks on the move is not even a possibility, panelists recently said at NetEvents. In large part, that is because the superficial similarities between mobile broadband networks and local Wi-Fi networks masks the fundamental difference. Mobile networks, though often used by stationary users, are intentionally designed to support session hand-off over wide areas.

Wi-Fi networks are simply wireless tails to a fixed connection. The two types of networks appear similar on the surface. They are completely different at the logical level.

Wi-Fi will never be seamless, experts claim