Wi-Fi First

Wi-Fi First refers to wireless services that are able to connect to multiple types of networks including Wi-Fi, cellular and other wireless networks. A Wi-Fi First solution has intelligence built in such that it will use a Wi-Fi network if it is available before falling back to other types of networks. Some Wi-Fi First solutions will enable the user to select which network to use based on the application but will use Wi-Fi if no determination is made. Wi-Fi First solutions can be used with many types of mobile devices including mobile phones and smartphones, tablets, laptops as well as other information devices such as internet connected cameras and home appliances. A Wi-Fi First mobile phone will use VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol to make and receive phone calls when on Wi-Fi networks.
Wi-Fi First offers many benefits, but often the most notable benefit is cost. In the case of a smartphone, a Wi-Fi First solution can save a consumer hundreds of dollars as cellular networks can be very expensive. For a user who is on Wi-Fi a large portion of the day, such a solution maybe optimal over traditional cellular service. Consider a college student on a campus that has Wi-Fi or a resident of a town that has city wide Wi-Fi. They maybe on Wi-Fi more than 90% of the time during their normal routine. Their smartphones or tablets would then operate on Wi-Fi most of the time and only use cellular networks for those rare times they were not connected to Wi-Fi. Other benefits could include using Wi-Fi for certain types of applications such as large downloads or video streaming while using cellular networks for lower bandwidth applications such as texting.
Scratch Wireless is a pioneer in Wi-Fi First mobile service but there are other examples such as tablets including Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle Fire that leverage Wi-Fi when available over cellular.
As 5g discussions begin, which include discussions of smart devices which can intelligently choose which network to leverage, some believe Wi-Fi First is the first step in this direction. Analyst Mark Lowenstein predicted 2013 as a year when Wi-Fi First maybe a trend in his

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