According to Bloomberg， consumers won’t need to log on to a Wi-Fi network to avoid costly mobile data overage charges when carriers start rolling out unlimited data plans. And that’s a critical change that threatens to render Wi-Fi obsolete.

　　据彭博社报道，随着运营商纷纷开始推出无限流量套餐，未来消费者将不再需要登录Wi-Fi来避免昂贵的流量费了。这一重大变化可能会促使Wi-Fi退出历史舞台。

　　Tim Farrar, founder of Telecom Media Finance Associates said “You could see a big switch. Your coffee shops may be less compelled to provide Wi-Fi for you now.”

　　Telecom Media Finance Associates的创始人蒂姆·法勒表示，“你可能会看到一个巨大的转变，自己经常光顾的咖啡店可能不再那么迫切需要为顾客提供Wi-Fi了。

　　In an all-data-you-can-eat world, consumers’ use of Wi-Fi at public places like stadiums and airports will drop to a third of all mobile data traffic from about half, Farrar estimates. This means businesses not upgrading public access Wi-Fi as often. Smartphone users might not even turn on their Wi-Fi capability, according to Barry Gilbert, an analyst at researcher Strategy Analytics.

　　法勒估计，在不限流量的世界里，消费者在体育馆和机场这类公共场所使用Wi-Fi所占的移动流量比例将从1/2降至1/3。在Strategy Analytics研究公司任职的分析师Barry Gilbert表示，这就意味着企业将不再经常升级公共Wi-Fi接入，而手机用户甚至可能也不会再开启Wi-Fi。

　　The erosion of Wi-Fi’s influence is likely to be slow and uneven. While unlimited data plans make the technology less necessary for phones, many home devices, from a MacBook to an Amazon Echo, still use Wi-Fi to connect to the internet. Wi-Fi also helps fill in gaps in some office buildings and homes that have spotty cellphone coverage.

　　不过Wi-Fi影响力的消退很可能是一个缓慢而崎岖的过程，因为虽然无限流量套餐让Wi-Fi对手机可有可无，但许多家用设备，从MacBook到Amazon Echo，还是需要通过Wi-Fi来连接网络。而在一些手机信号不佳的办公楼和家庭住宅，仍需要Wi-Fi来填补空白。

　　“Wi-Fi has consistently stayed ahead in terms of performance and its ability to move large amounts of data,” said Kevin Robinson, vice president of marketing for the Wi-Fi Alliance, a consortium of more than 700 companies, including Apple , Samsung , LG Electronics, Intel and Qualcomm. “The market is going to decide which technology provides the best capabilities for the end user. To displace a technology like Wi-Fi is likely very optimistic.”

　　Wi-Fi 联盟的成员包括苹果、三星、LG电子、英特尔公司和高通公司等700多家企业，该联盟市场部副总裁凯文·罗宾森表示，“在性能和大规模数据传输能力方面，Wi-Fi始终是更胜一筹，到底哪种技术能为终端用户提供最好的服务还得看市场的选择。不过要想取代Wi-Fi这样的技术可能还是太过乐观了。”

（编辑：何莹莹）