Sprint Intros Free Wi-Fi Calling for Some Smartphones
Eventually...
I see this as a double edge sword:
Pro:
1. Data, text, calling can be offloaded of carriers networks in big cities where congestion can be an issue.
Although they lose out on selling you a microCell for your home or business.//Still a pro for consumers
2. Businesses' can use their wifi network in their buildings if cell service is spotty
3. If your out of cell coverage (or out of country but I'm not sure?) but have wifi you can still use your phone.
Con:
1. This could give them less incentive to build out in rural areas, because if you have wifi at home why would you need to them to build out coverage to ...
(continues)
#2 can be easily remedied by paying for higher speed ISP. Remember a router has capabilities to handle 250 devices (computers, printers, phones, tablets)
The company I work for has a 15 story building with over 2000 employees in the company. We have wifi all over the place and have never run into problems.
3. I don't think that will be a problem because people already abuse those free hotspots with downloading torrents and using Netflix. I don't think that much would change.
With Sprint they block your international roaming on your phone to help you avoid unwanted international rates. You must explicitly contact Sprint directly to activate that feature on your phone while you travel. At that time the WiFi feature would work but there will be additional international Roaming rates you must agree to.
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