Through DHCP, the DHCP server can set different DHCP-options to notify clients what type of connection it is. For example: Android Phones set up to be a hotspot will set DHCP option 43 to a value indicating that it's a metered cellular connection.
I had no idea DHCP could even do that. What do Android devices do on unmetered cellular connections? How do they know if the connection is metered or not?
Re:What Web Can Do Today
by HappyTypist on Sunday November 29, 2015 @09:04PM
(#10647186)
In android settings you can set if your connection is metered or not, and set thresholds / warnings.
Re:What Web Can Do Today
by martin-adams on Sunday November 29, 2015 @06:19PM
(#10646575)
In Windows it's possible to set a wifi connection as metered. I've used this when tethering to my phone. So this info could be passed into the browser.
I work on a podcast app. When people are downloading hundreds of MB or more daily, they emphatically want control over when downloading takes place. In practice, almost all of them are satisfied with a binary choice between cellular or not. Those who do sometimes use expensive or slow wifi networks can blacklist them, which is also what network info APIs support.
There are also other applications such as metering apps, utilities that trigger actions upon network changes. Some very popular Android apps (e.g. Tasker, IFTTT) rely on network info for that; web falls further behind if web apps can't access that data.