The Sticky Wi-Fi Problem: Why Your Phone Hangs Up on You

OTI's Michael Calabrese was recently quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about "the sticky WiFi."

Our mobile devices are reaching for Wi-Fi hotspots they can “see” but can’t really connect to, while ignoring cell towers all around. The result is that our always-on cloud-connected devices suddenly aren’t. Apps hang, maps blank, downloads stall, calls drop, messages fail, irritation ensues.

It happens when we’re pulling out of our driveway, passing a store we’ve visited before, nearing a home with the same cable provider or even boarding an airplane.

And it’s likely to continue as long as mobile internet providers and handset makers push us to use Wi-Fi to fulfill our ever-increasing need for bandwidth. As much as 80% of existing traffic on mobile devices is already carried over Wi-Fi, according to Michael Calabrese, a wireless expert at the nonpartisan think tank New America.