Boingo VP: Carrier Wi-Fi offload important to future network experience
U.K.-based research firm Infonetics Research reports that carrier spending on Wi-Fi equipment grew 23% in the second half of 2014 to an impressive $336 million globally, when compared to the first half of 2014.
The company is predicting staggering growth in 2015, with carrier Wi-Fi spending poised to jump 88%, according to Infonetics.
“Several strong growth factors are feeding the rapid acceleration of the carrier Wi-Fi market,” Richard Webb, Infonetics’ research director for mobile backhaul and small cells, said in a statement. “In addition to the demand for offload and broadband enhancement, there are technology innovations such as 802.11ac and Hotspot 2.0, and service opportunities like data analytics, location-based services and Wi-Fi roaming that are driving deployment.”
For all of 2014, the global carrier’s Wi-Fi equipment market grew 16%. Access points made up the majority of carrier Wi-Fi revenue.
Boingo Wireless VP of product Marc Patterson discussed the future of carrier Wi-Fi applications with RCR Wireless News at the recent PCIA 2015 Wireless Infrastructure Show in Hollywood, Fla.
“Carrier offload is one of the tools carriers find very appealing,” Patterson said. “It allows for them to be able to make better use of the LTE spectrum they have by taking a lot of the heavy payload – data applications, data-intensive applications such as downloads, such as streaming – and move it into a more natural environment for data, which is where Wi-Fi comes into play.”
Patterson stressed the “ability to take their traffic and leverage the Wi-Fi infrastructure,” as key to carrier Wi-Fi. Boingo has run a number of carrier trials of Wi-Fi data offload, and Patterson said Wi-Fi will be key for carriers looking to provide optimal end-user experiences.
“This really creates a very dynamic environment, which I think one of the most positive things we’ve seen … is that that marriage between the devices, which are controlling a lot of this kind of interaction, and what’s happening with the carriers in terms of recognition that they can’t build a network that can support all of these capabilities,” he said. “I think that we’re finding that’s a really good space we’re in right now where we have that kind of marriage that’s ultimately going to drive a really great customer experience.”
