I frequently argue against the assumption that "seamless" connection to WiFi is practical or desirable, especially for the general case of smartphones or tablets being "pushed" automatically to connect via a combination of technologies and new standards like Passpoint, Hotspot 2.0, ANDSF and EAP-SIM.
I thought it was worth stressing and clarifying the single most problematic use-case:
Worst case scenario: A device automatically being connected to paid or overly policy-managed carrier-WiFi, when a free alternative is readily available
Nothing will cause customer dissatisfaction & churn faster than incurring additional costs (or additional usage against a quota) than this. Expect lawyers, regulators, consumer press & commentators to throw very large & painful bricks at you if it occurs. And probably device & OS vendors too.
The classic example that most readers of this blog will be familiar with is attending a conference in a hotel with expensive WiFi, but where the event organisers give you a free code, or even set up their own APs for better performance/lower cost. We'd be deeply annoyed if our phones "roamed onto" the local WiFi automatically, unless the usage was 100% free as well. Similar story if your frequent-flyer lounge has free WiFi, but your devices magically jumped onto the paid/roamed WiFi in the main airport hall.
I am writing this on a laptop, with two phones by my side, in Starbucks in London. There is free WiFi (provided by BT Openzone in this case). You typically log on via a very simple splash page and selecting an obvious Openzone-Starbucks SSID. A very small "seam" indeed. Alternatively, I can use the BT WiFi app I have on my phones for free, or login on the "normal" BT Openzone SSID page, because I have BT Broadband at home. I'd be irritated if I was automatically shunted to one of my CellCo's SSIDs instead, with their charging and policy being applied.
Same thing in hundreds of other situations too - restaurants, pubs, offices, friends' homes, public buildings and so forth. There is free WiFi - often very good too - easily obtainable from a source other than the cellular operator. There are multiple stakeholders here - the venue, advertisers, content companies, fixed operators, your device supply, your employer and so forth. All might have negotiated a better "private" WiFi experience than your cellular provider at that location.
Not only that, but the cellular WiFi option might be subject to onerous policy restrictions (eg VoIP blocking) which don't apply when you use WiFi in "private" mode.
There must be an easy and obvious way to manage this - and not just buried 7 layers down in the menus with some obscure configuration settings. The alternative is that the carrier WiFi is 100% free, 100% unmetered, in which case people won't care about the other options. That is why Apple is happy with AT&T and some other operators doing automated WiFi log-on, as it's in a customer-friendly form. One other possible option is that the operator (instead of charging you) gives you extra free stuff such as exclusive content to tempt you onto its WiFi option.
Seams are often there for good reasons, as well as bad. Seams can be monetised; seams can present the user with important information or choices. In some cases automation and "frictionless" connection in desirable, while in other cases it's not. Mobile operators are just one (often minor) stakeholder in the overall WiFi ecosystem, and need to stop arrogantly assuming that their WiFi choices trump either users', or other parties. Unless and until Hotspot 2.0 and its related standards fully and explicitly recognise these choices, it's dead in the water.
I thought it was worth stressing and clarifying the single most problematic use-case:
Worst case scenario: A device automatically being connected to paid or overly policy-managed carrier-WiFi, when a free alternative is readily available
Nothing will cause customer dissatisfaction & churn faster than incurring additional costs (or additional usage against a quota) than this. Expect lawyers, regulators, consumer press & commentators to throw very large & painful bricks at you if it occurs. And probably device & OS vendors too.
The classic example that most readers of this blog will be familiar with is attending a conference in a hotel with expensive WiFi, but where the event organisers give you a free code, or even set up their own APs for better performance/lower cost. We'd be deeply annoyed if our phones "roamed onto" the local WiFi automatically, unless the usage was 100% free as well. Similar story if your frequent-flyer lounge has free WiFi, but your devices magically jumped onto the paid/roamed WiFi in the main airport hall.
I am writing this on a laptop, with two phones by my side, in Starbucks in London. There is free WiFi (provided by BT Openzone in this case). You typically log on via a very simple splash page and selecting an obvious Openzone-Starbucks SSID. A very small "seam" indeed. Alternatively, I can use the BT WiFi app I have on my phones for free, or login on the "normal" BT Openzone SSID page, because I have BT Broadband at home. I'd be irritated if I was automatically shunted to one of my CellCo's SSIDs instead, with their charging and policy being applied.
Same thing in hundreds of other situations too - restaurants, pubs, offices, friends' homes, public buildings and so forth. There is free WiFi - often very good too - easily obtainable from a source other than the cellular operator. There are multiple stakeholders here - the venue, advertisers, content companies, fixed operators, your device supply, your employer and so forth. All might have negotiated a better "private" WiFi experience than your cellular provider at that location.
Not only that, but the cellular WiFi option might be subject to onerous policy restrictions (eg VoIP blocking) which don't apply when you use WiFi in "private" mode.
There must be an easy and obvious way to manage this - and not just buried 7 layers down in the menus with some obscure configuration settings. The alternative is that the carrier WiFi is 100% free, 100% unmetered, in which case people won't care about the other options. That is why Apple is happy with AT&T and some other operators doing automated WiFi log-on, as it's in a customer-friendly form. One other possible option is that the operator (instead of charging you) gives you extra free stuff such as exclusive content to tempt you onto its WiFi option.
Seams are often there for good reasons, as well as bad. Seams can be monetised; seams can present the user with important information or choices. In some cases automation and "frictionless" connection in desirable, while in other cases it's not. Mobile operators are just one (often minor) stakeholder in the overall WiFi ecosystem, and need to stop arrogantly assuming that their WiFi choices trump either users', or other parties. Unless and until Hotspot 2.0 and its related standards fully and explicitly recognise these choices, it's dead in the water.
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