Devicescape Software Inc. is a California-based company that is trying to sell wireless carriers on the potential of using the multitude of free WiFi hotspots in existence to their benefit. The company's product causes smartphones to automatically link to freely offered WiFi networks, without the user having to perform the manual tasks that are typically required to connect to hotspots. "We're taking advantage of the public WiFi that has already been deployed, and there's actually tens of millions of locations in our network already, and it's composed of everything...
WiFi is not necessarily a friend of mobile carriers, though it could be, according to a Denmark-based industry consultant who’s hosting an international summit on WiFi in mid-June. Wireless service providers are increasingly looking at data transmission as a source of revenue, as evidenced by Rogers Communications Inc.’s first-quarter financial report this year, which showed for the first time that more money came from data than voice in its wireless operations. All three Canadian wireless incumbents — Rogers, Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. — reported double-digit,...