Industry news

 

    Wi-Fi hotspots on the up

    Mon 21-Jul-2008

    Broadband bandwidth is being driven as the number of Wi-Fi hotspots continues to increase dramatically this year, new data suggests.

    Estimates from ABI Research forecast the number of global hotspots will grow by 40 per cent during 2008 compared to the year before.

    The largest growth is expected in Europe - where the UK is the market leader for Wi-Fi - and the analyst predicts large levels of growth in France, Germany and Russia as well.

    Stan Schatt, vice president of the market analyst, said an increasing number of organisations are moving towards a free service Wi-Fi model where users will pay for exclusive content.

    "Hotspot owners are beginning to see Wi-Fi as a cost of doing business and an operational expense … charging for service is counter-productive in the long run because the real money will be in value-add content downloads," he added.

    New Infonetics research found enterprises are adopting 802.11n Wi-Fi products at increasing rates.
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