Study: Wi-Fi Users To Reach 23 Million In 2006 BY WIRELESS WEEK STAFF SEPTEMBER 8, 2003
The wireless hot spot market is poised for growth, reaching 23 million users by 2006, according to a new study. But market analyst firm Datamonitor cautions that for long-term success, industry must put its monetary muscle behind service locations and attracting users. By the end of this year, Datamonitor predicts there will be 31,580 hot spots around the world, with that number quadrupled to 1.53 million within the next three years. This translates to a potential $7 billion market for public wireless LAN hot spots by 2006. While the Asia Pacific is leading the charge right now, the firm expects North America and the regions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa to surpass Asia Pacific in terms of hot spot numbers. Ambitious rollout plans by operators such as T-Mobile, Boingo, Cometa Networks and Toshiba will push North America to the top spot over the course of 2004, Datamonitor predicts. The North American Wi-Fi market is expected to be worth $2.8 billion by 2006. These positive predictions could lead some to believe that the market is poised for eternal growth, but Datamonitor analyst Tim Gower cautions those thinkers. "The PWLAN market will not become the Eldorado that many originally hoped for. PWLANs will not constitute a mass market in the same vein as cellular communications," says Gower. Service providers and premises owners must find ways to drive usage, he says. "The industry can certainly help its cause by investing heavily in WLAN marketing and identifying the right locations that will attract users to PWLAN services," Gower says. http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=newsat2direct&starting=2&pubdate=09/08/03 -- "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL" Note The New address Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1 "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS" Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2 "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP" The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security. Subscribe to WFHSG: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
