Under What Circumstances Would WiFi To FLASH-OFDM Handoff Make Sense?

Wireless

Flarion is getting more press coverage today for new trials in Japan with Japan Telecom, but this one has an odd difference to it. Rather than just testing out Flarion’s FLASH-OFDM technology, they’re testing out the handoff between WiFi and FLASH-OFDM. Seamless handoffs are nice… but how important is this really? If you have FLASH-OFDM access, you have mobile broadband — and assuming it’s priced at a flat rate (as is likely), in what situations would you want to jump onto a WiFi network (seamlessly or not)? The WiFi connection to the local network may be faster, but the backhaul probably won’t be noticeably faster than the FLASH-OFDM connection. Plus, in moving to WiFi you also open yourself up to additional security issues. That’s not to say there’s never a reason to do this, but it’s hard to think up too many compelling cases where it makes sense.