As many carriers have switched to tiered or throttled data plans in recent years, Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly important as a way to conserve your precious mobile data. The good news is that Wi-Fi is becoming more ubiquitous as more and more businesses offer Wi-Fi connectivity to their customers, and according to a new rumor, Google may help improve the situation even further.
Sources speaking to The Information claim that Google is planning to offer “heavily subsidized” Wi-Fi equipment to small and medium-sized businesses. The effort will reportedly be targeted at places where consumers are likely to visit frequently and want Internet access, like restaurants and gyms.
This equipment would reportedly be offered to the businesses at a substantial discount. Perhaps the best news of all is that Google is reportedly planning to roll this initiative out both to the U.S. and the rest of the globe.
Google recently teamed up with Starbucks to power the Wi-Fi offered at the Seattle chain’s coffee houses, and I could definitely see El Goog working to help provide quality Wi-Fi to other businesses as well. Not only would the businesses benefit from the improved Wi-Fi access for its customers, but Google would likely gain additional info on users and and the searches conducted on those Wi-Fi networks.
Do you sign into Wi-Fi networks while you’re visiting businesses or do you primarily rely on your cellular data when you’re out and about?
