So today I was listening to the Crackberry.com podcast and they brought up the fact that the Blackberry Storm 9520 for Rogers will have WiFi and how the Vodafone/Verizon version was requested to NOT come with WiFi per the carrier’s demands. So I wanted to share my thoughts and rant a little bit about Carriers and pulling WiFi out of their devices. When the inclusion of WiFi into smartphones took off I was with T-Mobile and owned the HP iPaq 6315. Ever since that point, 99% of the phones I have owned have had WiFi and have been on either T-Mobile or AT&T. Over the years I have heard of certain carriers, cough Verizon cough, requesting WiFi to be left off in their versions of devices so that customers must pay for the carrier’s data plan in order to access web, email, etc. From a business stand point, I get it and 2-3 years ago that might been cool, but now a days, it just pisses me off and here is why.
First off, it is 2009 and every device now a days comes with WiFi. From portable gaming systems to iPods, they all have it! WiFi is not a feature that is exclusive to just laptops and PDAs anymore. You can’t go into a coffee shop, hotel, diner, or bookstore without having access to high speed WiFi, it is literally everywhere! Even in the little town in the mountains where I vacation has 3 cafes with WiFi, where as the whole town has no cell signal. My point is there is an obvious demand for hotspots and devices that support WiFi, its not going away.
Second, high end devices like the iPhone, Blackberry Storm, and Blackberry Bold all require a data plan from the carrier anyway. So if they are already getting paid for the data plan, why leave out WiFi? I am already shelling out my $30+/month for data access, the use of WiFi takes no money from the carriers. If they were worried about customers using Wifi for phone calls , why don’t more carriers launch UMA like T-mobile? Plus there is very small percentage of consumers who would actually utilize these types of services, so VOIP is not an issues for carriers in my opinion.
Third, we have all seen the strain AT&T has had on it’s network since the launch of the iPhone 3G. I would imagine they don’t mind when you give the network a break and hop on a WiFi spot to download your email or web browse. If carriers were smart they would leverage the WiFi feature on devices with more clarity in adds and selling points. If more people knew how and where to use WiFi, they could cut quite a bit of strain off their networks. I meet so many customers a day that want an iPhone and have no idea what “WiFi” is. Why would they use it if they don’t know how, or the benefits of it?
Lastly and the most important in my opinion is lack of coverage. I have Verizon and AT&T and both offer excellent service here in North Carolina. When traveling around I seem to always get great 3G coverage from both carriers. With that said my house is a dead zone. I can get siganl but its not the best. So with my iPhone all is well, turn on WiFi and I don’t miss emails, I can still browse the web, heck I can even control my iTunes over my WiFi connection. My Storm, not so much, I get about 1-2 bars (same as the iPhone), but with no option to click on WiFi so I can at least stay connected to my data. Thanks Verizon I appreciate the consideration 
Sarcasm aside, I am confident that I am not the only one with this issue. I am sure others have in building problems where they live, work or vacation. In fairness I have not taken the Storm to the mountains yet, so I do not know what the signal will be like there, but I am sure if it had WiFi I would not worry, as I would still be semi connected to my world.
My point to this rant, is that manufactures should not be willing to compromise to the demands of carriers. Look at the iPhone, it is a great device made by a great manufacturer. Do you think Apple made any compromises because of the demands of AT&T? I doubt it, and look how much money that thing is making for Apple and AT&T. WiFi is not going anywhere anytime soon, so Verizon (and all other carriers who do this crap), quite acting like a spoiled child and let the consumers have what they want!
-end rant
