ABI Research is arguing that operators should deploy carrier-grade Wi-Fi at the same time that they are rolling out cellular-technology small cells, looking for an integrated solution in order to maximize the investment return from small cells.
The analyst firm noted that China Mobile and AT&T are among those incorporating Wi-Fi into their heterogeneous network architectures and expect more operators to follow suit. Hotspot 2.0, or Passpoint, is also gaining traction – Time Warner Cable recently announced a national deployment of the technology for users of its Wi-Fi network, which means that users only have to log into the Passpoint network once and are automatically authenticated whenever they are in range thereafter.
“Wi-Fi is an integral part of the smartphone and tablet experience, and operators will do well to make carrier Wi-Fi a part of that experience,” said Joe Hoffman, practice director for mobile networks with ABI.
“The added capacity and incremental economics of incorporating Wi-Fi into a hetnet portfolio are almost self-evident,” added Hoffman.
–Meanwhile, a new report from Transparency Market Research estimated the global femtocell market at $420 million in 2012 and expects that to reach $4.7 billion by 2019, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of about 37%.
—Boingo Wireless has been chosen to build a neutral-host distributed antenna system at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif. The long-term agreement puts Boingo in charge of designing, installing and managing the new DAS network, and the company will also be upgrading the airport’s existing Wi-Fi network to support Passpoint. Boingo says it will also manage “any future deployments of cellular small cell networks at the airport.”
—C Spire is among the companies supporting a new, wireless-technology-in-education project in the Booneville school district in northeast Mississippi. The $1.2 million project, funded by state dollars, involved the purchase of Chromebooks and iPad Minis for all 1,300 K-12 students and 90 teachers in the district. C Spire is enabling Wi-Fi connectivity for the devices via a new network; its hosted Wi-Fi solution, including 116 access points, was installed at the schools last fall and turned on earlier this year.
—Tessco Technologies has been selected as a distribution partner for GE’s Digital Energy Business. Ventev, which is a division of Tessco, already manufactures a deployment kit for GE’s MDS Orbit platform; Tessco also now has Orbit elements available including industrial wireless routers and solutions that offer a common format for integrating cellular, private, licensed and unlicensed networks.
–The HetNet Expo, which will be held in Chicago in mid-October, has put out a call for speakers.
