Wireless operators have proven themselves to be grossly incompetent when it comes to consumer facing services since the beginning of time. They’ve made more apps that only work on a limited number of devices, that only connect to their network, than we care to count. Many of us are begging operators to just become “dumb pipes”, which is an offensive term that means operators should do nothing more than provide wireless connectivity. Period. We say offensive because not all pipes are created equal. Some folks are willing to pay Verizon more than the other operators because they can get coverage pretty much damn near anywhere in America. Some folks don’t want to worry about their data consumption, so they go with Sprint. The pipe argument aside, AT&T has actually done something innovative for once. They’ve developed an Android application called “Smart Wi-Fi” that any Android user using AT&T’s network can download. It uses cell tower regulation to figure out when to turn your WiFi on or off and should you be near an AT&T WiFi access point, or an access point you’ve designated as one you often use, it’ll automatically connect. Watch the video below to get a better idea of what we’re talking about. It’s corny, but it does the job at getting the point across:
AT&T wants you to get off their cellular network when there are perfectly good WiFi hotspots around your present location. They’d rather have someone who is on the go use the few precious resources they’ve got deployed rather than having bits wasted on streaming a video that you’re watching while sitting down in a café. Note that AT&T has over 27,000 hotspots in America, so there’s a good chance that you can connect to WiFi in more places than you might think.