Citywide Mobile Internet Access Using Dense Urban WiFi Coverage

We investigate if it is feasible to use the WiFi coverage in urban areas for mobile Internet access and which type of applications can benefit from the Internet access provided by the already deployed WiFi Access Points (APs). Nowadays, most smartphones and other mobile handsets are WiFi-enabled. Moreover, mobile Internet data traffic is expected to grow significantly in the next few years. WiFi access is an interesting alternative to cellular networks, as it is a widespread wireless technology, provides high data rates and has a low deployment cost. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of WiFi coverage and connectivity of mobile users using different mobility speeds and varying some AP settings. These results allow us to analyze different applications that can be supported and the challenges to face to create a citywide WiFi network given the current infrastructure composed of residential WiFi APs and hotspots.