Every imaginable type of handheld device is embedding Wi-Fi these days, as users demand wireless access at home, in the workplace and in public venues. Meanwhile, media-rich data traffic is quickly clogging 3G operator networks. This is driving carriers to use Wi-Fi more strategically to augment their broadband wireless plans. It’s not an opportunity 4G makes obsolete, either. The problem is, can Wi-Fi keep up with the situation?
Wi-Fi is a bubble threatening to burst under the weight of its own popularity. And unless something is done to help the technology reach farther, go faster and with more wire-like reliability, that just might happen. Lucky for all of us, there are breakthroughs in Wi-Fi technology promising to solve this mess by providing much more efficient and adaptive ways to transmit and receive radio signals.
Wi-Fi Everywhere
The digital mobile lifestyle has taken over. The Wi-Fi lure of “free spectrum, no strings attached” has hooked us, making it arguably one of the most habit-changing and beloved networking innovations of our lifetime.
Last year, more than 340 million Wi-Fi mobile Internet devices shipped and over the next three years, IDC estimates that more than 1 billion new Wi-Fi-equipped devices will become available. In its most recent “Mobile Metrics” study, AdMob reported that over 60 percent of requests made from mobile devices were made over Wi-Fi. This puts big pressure on Wi-Fi to do more than it’s ever done before.
Businesses also are trying to use Wi-Fi (because of its low cost and ease of use) to support more sophisticated applications, like IP video, telepresence and voice over Wi-Fi, to a diverse and growing community of users.
Look no further than your closest hotel, school or hospital and you’ll see why. No longer viewed as a “nice-to-have” amenity, Wi-Fi has become a strategic weapon. Hotels are looking to leverage Wi-Fi not only to provide more robust high-speed Internet access services to guests but also as a tool to deliver IP-based video, digital signage, voice communications among staff and point of sale applications – all of which drive more business.
Meanwhile, media-rich data traffic is quickly clogging 3G operator networks. And all of these trends are driving carriers to use Wi-Fi more strategically to augment their broadband wireless plans. PCCW in Hong Kong was among the first operators to use Wi-Fi to offload its 3G network, as users began viewing bandwidth-intensive streaming IP videos on their mobile devices. Building a high-speed fiber network to hotspots and outfitting each hotspot with smarter 802.11n systems, PCCW has built a hotspot model that will be duplicated elsewhere around the world.
