Sprint customers are showing a shift away from Wi-Fi to cellular networks (S, T, TMUS, VZ)

Sprint's new "Unlimited Freedom" data offering could be driving customers away from Wi-Fi networks and onto its cellular network, according to a new study from P3 and Strategy Analytics.

The offering gives Sprint customers unlimited free talk, text, and data for a set price. An analysis of more than 2,300 Sprint customers in the US found that in Q4 customers used an average 101 MB of cell data each day, a significant increase over the three preceding quarters, when cell data usage was roughly 89 MB. The success of the campaign will likely pave the way for even more products offering free data, providing businesses and brands with new ways to reach consumers.

The shift from Wi-Fi to Sprint's cellular data mirrors an overall uptick in cellular network usage across the whole US market. A September 2016 study from P3 and Fierce Wireless found that, overall, Wi-Fi usage as a share of time spent in-app is declining in the US. This doesn’t necessarily mean that users are spending less time in-app over Wi-Fi, but is likely a sign that users are spending an increasing share of their time in-app over cellular data networks.

An increase in time spent in-app over cellular networks could provide businesses and developers with more opportunities to reach consumers. In the past, slower networks meant that many users didn't interact with their devices until they were on a Wi-Fi network. The fact that users are willing to engage and view rich media over cellular data networks suggests that businesses can push more engaging, location-based advertisements, including animated stickers and videos to users on the move.

As the deregulation of the US telecom industry becomes more and more likely, unlimited data and zero-rating offerings will become more common. The Democratic-led FTC and FCC were heavily cautious about offerings from telecom companies that leveraged free data or their media holdings to get ahead of the competition. However, this is sure to change as the regulatory bodies transition to the new Republican government. This will encourage new partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions between carriers and media companies looking to make themselves more attractive to consumers, such as AT&T's offering.

All of this occurs as the wireless industry is in a state of flux. AT&T and Verizon have dominated the carrier market over the past seven years while T-Mobile and Sprint have struggled to gain subscribers. Then in 2013, T-Mobile tweaked its strategy to turn around its business.

This move, along with slowing smartphone adoption and other forces in the mobile industry, killed the two-year contract and initiated an ongoing price war between carriers. The movement away from the contract model is not only changing the way carriers operate, it’s affecting the myriad of industries that rely on carriers’ services.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on wireless carriers that examines how the wireless industry has fundamentally changed since carriers began aggressively responding to the launch of T-Mobile’s “Un-Carrier” movement. It also looks at the factors underpinning changes in the broader wireless industry and the challenges carriers face in 2016 and beyond, including the upcoming spectrum auction and the deployment of new wireless technologies.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

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Sprint customers are showing a shift away from Wi-Fi to cellular networks (S, T, TMUS, VZ)

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