Over the last decade there has been some talk, and a bit of action, around 'bring your own broadband' for Internet access. Basically, the idea has been that at least some consumers would own their own broadband connections. 'Fon,' the global network of contributed hot spots, is one example. And there have been some tiny experiments with user-owned fiber connections. The 'Utopia' network in Brigham City, Utah is one example.

 

For the most part, 'bring your own' broadband hasn't materialized in a significant way. But that probably will change, in significant measure, for the same reason so much else in communications has changed--mobile services.

 

Specifically, more and more people will use the WiFi (News - Alert) capabilities of their smartphones to connect using their own access connections at home or at work, rather than the public wireless networks, because the devices will sense and reconnect that way on their own, because more people will prefer the experience, and because so much smartphone usage now occurs inside buildings and homes, making WiFi access a significant practice.

 

Networking firm Meraki notes that the overall number of smartphones using its access points for hotspots quadrupled in 2009.

 

Use of Apple (News - Alert) devices on Meraki-monitored WiFi networks, including laptops, iPhones and iPods, grew by 221 percent in 2009. Apple devices now represent 32 percent of all the devices seen by Meraki access points in North America, compared to just 14 percent in 2008.

 

The number of Research In Motion devices accessing Meraki's WiFi network surged by 419 percent from 2008 to 2009, while Nokia (News - Alert) devices increased by 114 percent.

 

As smartphones post huge gains, the number of Intel (News - Alert)-based devices using WiFi, primarily laptops, declined 11 percent. That might suggest either that users are increasingly opting for handsets over portable computers to access the Internet on the go, or that smartphones simply are a larger percentage of the user base. One suspects it is a combination of both trends.

 

The larger point is that “bring your own broadband” depends on the end user value of robust bandwidth at a specific location. The shift to mobility actually works against the trend in many ways by increasing the value of “anywhere” connections and deemphasizing the value of fixed connections. Though few human beings actually “bring their own broadband” in the original “fiber to your house that you own” sense, millions of people already use their own leased connections to connect to mobile services at home and at work, without using the carrier wireless network.

 

As often is the case in the communications business, people use technology in ways originally unforeseen.