OpenSignal: Cable Aggressively Unloads Mobile Traffic to Wi-Fi

The bulk of wireless data is carried over Wi-Fi rather than mobile connections, though differences are notable in the traffic ratio among wireless operators, OpenSignal said last week. Major wireless carriers Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T see significantly more of their data moving over mobile connections than Comcast's and Charter's mobile services do, it said. More use of Wi-Fi by cable mobile virtual network operator subscribers is a product of Comcast and Charter Wi-Fi offload strategies. The cable operators use their in-home Wi-Fi and extensive out-of-home Wi-Fi hot spot networks to help reduce their wholesale cellar traffic costs, OpenSignal said. Both home and away, T-Mobile users spend the most time on mobile, reflecting in part its lack of public Wi-Fi hot spots, OpenSignal said. With all five, though, the vast bulk of their data usage is over Wi-Fi rather than mobile -- anywhere from 82% for T-Mobile to 89% for Comcast.