By Eng. Evaristo Amaro
Today Wi-Fi networks have taken on a vital importance in our lives. The use and
uninterrupted access to information is the day-to-day of modern society. Although the
information is important for any activity and in different industries, according to the “NORTON
WI-FI RISK REPORT of 2017” generation Z in 44% expresses that having access to a
public network is vital for the use of information technologies and social networks, the latter being
important part of the world of digital marketing.
Additionally in the “Annual Internet Report” for 2018-2023, Cisco expects the number of
Internet access points grow four times, that is, from 169 million hotspots in 2018 to 628
Millions in 2023 (Not counting WiFi 6 adoption!) and the market will pass 2.79 Billion
from USD to 9.46 Billion USD by 2026 (SOURCE: Transparency Market Research. “Wi-Fi Analytics
Market-Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2018 –2026.”)
So with all these hotspots, the huge profits and a population
willing/needing WiFI networks, we ask ourselves, is the business in internet access?
The answer is no!. Although studies reveal that 60% of users who stay longer
in one place thanks to free Wi-Fi access, they spend 50% more than they did before, there is a greater
hidden value in WiFi data and analytics. Other advantages of free hotspots are
that improve the experience of customers/visitors by increasing their permanence, preferring a place
over another for this service and being a digital platform to bring businesses closer to their customers, not
it is the only value that can be obtained from this infrastructure.
An inherent and natural fear is the protection of our information and the way we protect
our identity and data, but what is a fact is that in the aforementioned Norton report, 55%
of WiFi users are willing to share, give or do something in exchange for free internet.
This includes sharing personal information by 8%, permissions on a personal email
at 7%, a social media account at 6% and watching an average 3-minute video at 34%. In
security issue 87% of the study participants have admitted to having assumed risks of
security in public Wi-Fi networks such as opening a personal email account, banking information,
access to home security cameras etc.
Let’s be honest, unfortunately we don’t read the “fine” print when accessing a network and we are
willing to do the aforementioned in order to have the long-awaited Internet access. There are reports of
“online booking” companies that indicate that WiFi is one of the most sought-after parameters and that
they become a difference between one hotel and another, far above the gym!
But what are WiFi analytics? And what types are there?
I will start by saying that Wi-Fi analytics are a residue of the search for Internet Marketing.
WiFi, which has become more important than marketing itself. This is because it gives you a
perfect combination between the information of your business and the behavior of your clients, which
It allows to make the operation more efficient and determine actions based on a “situational awareness”. There is
to learn from behavior as nature has done for millions of years.
Within these analytics we can count on stay times, recurrence of users, visits
between stores peak hours, sale conversion, visitor count, location-based activity
among many others, each industry has interests and preferences to the type of information that this
searching. Wi-Fi analytics offer endless possibilities on how you can apply the
digital technology in business.
Personally, I can separate the topic of Wi-Fi analytics into 3 large verticals that, in the end,
unite into one and represent the point of union and conversation between the Marketing departments
and IT that were once two worlds apart.
Marketing/Operational Analytics. – All analytics that have to do with the user
such as: recurrence to the place, personal information, demographics, understanding of
patterns, interaction with the user during his stay and outside his stay in a certain place.
Location-based analytics. – Refers to all information obtained from the
user behavior such as recurrence, time spent in a place or in front of a product,
traffic and movement patterns, loss prevention, geofences, places of interest and concentration
of masses.
Advertising Analytics. – Refers generally to advertising displayed and “sold” for
count impressions, information to do demographic analysis by product or brand, categories,
profiles, sponsorships etc.
Under these three verticals the possibilities are infinite, the information is easy to obtain and under a
correct mechanism for ingesting and analyzing the information, the benefits are immediate and palpable.
With the combination of other technologies such as sensors, cameras and video analytics,
complements the ecosystem to achieve an automated Wi-Fi analytics and monetization system,
at Calculus Networks we know how and We Make IT Possible.