Tedious Signup Forms and Security Named Top Public WiFi Annoyances

LONDON - June 2, 2014 - PRLog -- A new monthly survey of 827 ISPreview.co.uk readers (conducted between 29th Apr - 2nd June 2014), a popular consumer information site for broadband provider (ISP) news and comparisons in the United Kingdom, has found that most people (63%) would rather use Mobile Broadband than Public WiFi Hotspots (26%) to get online when out and about (note: 10.5% said they don't use either). Indeed fears over wifi security and the fiddly sign-up forms used by many access points were chief among consumer concerns.

The poll also asked whether respondents would only use a WiFi hotspot if there was a very poor or no Mobile Broadband signal and 53% agreed, while 28% disagreed and the rest were unsure. But what really puts people off using public wifi are the security concerns and tedious signup forms; the latter of which can make it difficult to connect, especially when surfing via a Smartphone.

Question: What is the biggest single problem with public wifi?
Security - 34.4%
Fiddly Signup Forms - 25.1%
Sporadic Coverage - 17%
Performance - 13.4%
Price - 7.3%
Other - 2.5%

"Mobile Broadband services are improving all the time, especially since the advent of faster 4G networks, and many consumers now see related connectivity as a better option than public wifi," said ISPreview.co.uk's Founder, Mark Jackson. "But interestingly it's not wifi performance that tops the list of the biggest consumer gripes, instead most people pointed towards security concerns (i.e. it's never easy to be 100% sure that a public wifi network is safe), fiddly signup forms and of course the inherently patchy network coverage."

"The good news is that the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) are attempting to deploy so-called Next Generation Hotspots (NGH), which should be more secure and easier to connect (i.e. automatic online signup). The bad news is that these are still being developed and so for now the top two gripes will remain an annoyance, especially if you're trying to connect from outside of the UK where hotspots often require either an Email or SMS for verification (sometimes neither of which will work)," added Jackson.