The momentum of 3G data access has picked up speed as customers – particularly business users – experience the value of access to mobile broadband connectivity on their laptops, regardless of location. With this growing market, does Wi-Fi still have a role with the mobile worker?
Wi-Fi has historically been a useful access method for mobile workers, especially business travelers, to gain quick connectivity to e-mail and the Internet while on the road. However, users are required to be in a venue that is enabled as a Wi-Fi hot spot.
With the availability of 3G cards and embedded laptops, connectivity has expanded to allow access virtually anywhere using the cellular network. For frequent U.S. business travelers, 3G is gaining traction as the de facto standard for mobile broadband connectivity within the U.S. largely because of its ubiquitous nature and the stable monthly service fees.
IDC expects U.S. business subscribers to 3G data services to increase to 12.3 million by 2011. However, Wi-Fi still is the standard when those workers travel outside of the U.S. due to high data roaming charges and possible network incompatibility for 3G connectivity.
Wi-Fi cool again?
There has been some speculation that 3G cellular connectivity will lead to the demise of Wi-Fi. Where cellular data connectivity moved from the mobile handset to the laptop device, Wi-Fi access has begun its migration from the laptop to the converged mobile device. In 2007, the launch of such devices as Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry 8320 and 8820, Nokia Corp.’s E61i, Hewlett-Packard Co.’s iPAQs, HTC devices and the much hyped Apple Inc. iPhone have made Wi-Fi cool again for the business user.
Now, instead of Wi-Fi being accessed solely on a laptop, converged mobile devices are able to leverage wireless local area networks whether in the four walls of the enterprise, an airport lounge, a coffee shop or at home.
The recent announcements about the availability of Wi-Fi on aircrafts provide one example demonstrating the fact that it complements 3G access. Even without access to cellular signals, business travelers can continue to remain “connected” and be productive at 35,000 feet.
IDC asked wireless decision makers which technologies and services are used in their enterprises. Sixty-two percent indicated that Wi-Fi was used as opposed to 21% using mobile broadband (see chart). With Wi-Fi well used in the enterprise, workers are equipped to continue leveraging Wi-Fi access in public locations as well.
FMC impact
Wi-Fi also has relevancy in this new world of fixed mobile convergence. As dual-mode devices allow users to roam between cellular and WLANs for voice calling, the number of subscribers leveraging the service will increase not just for data activity but also for voice – a cheaper alternative to costly cellular minutes. As companies expand their WLANs to handle voice, as carriers begin to offer a larger selection of dual-mode devices, and as enterprises invest in dual mode functionality, Wi-Fi access inside and outside the enterprise takes on a new meaning.
With an increasing number of Wi-Fi-enabled converged mobile devices and 3G embedded laptops in the hands of business travelers and mobile workers, the demand for both services will continue to complement each other.
Carrie MacGillivray is a Senior Research Analyst for Mobile Enterprise Network Services, at IDC. IDC is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help its clients achieve their key business objectives. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.
