The list of wireless services is long and getting longer – public Wi-Fi services, the “Internet of Things,” big data, converged services, smart cities and “5G” to name a few. A new report from Maravedisthe Wireless Broadband Alliance, shows businesses are becoming aware of the increasingly vital role robust wireless infrastructure plays in their operations.
According to the report, 57% of operators have firm timelines in place for the deployment of carrier-grade network architecture, and by 2020, 80% of respondents plan to have deployments in the areas of IoT and machine-to-machine; more than half already have plans for converged services and smart cities.
IoT is dependent on wireless infrastructure to function with Wi-Fi being one of the most tried-and-true systems available, particularly for home-based IoT. From agriculture to defense, IoT systems are increasingly commonplace across all industries. Some predictions estimate the IoT market could soon be worth $1.9 trillion and involve trillions of devices and sensors. A recent U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing highlighted the expansion of wireless broadband infrastructure including Wi-Fi.
The WBA report notes increased confidence in carrier-grade Wi-Fi is prompting more businesses to use Wi-Fi networks to meet their IoT needs.
“Increased operator confidence in carrier-grade Wi-Fi technology has led to a surge in the growth of deployments over the past 12 months and set a trend that will to continue,” said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO of the WBA. “Within five years there will be as much as a 70% rise in the number of carrier-grade public Wi-Fi hot spots deployed, vastly outnumbering current best effort[s].
“These shifts mean that the themes of the WBA’s Vision 2020 are equally applicable to all the ecosystem’s stakeholders; accelerating development of relevant technologies to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape, diversifying in time with the changing face of the Wi-Fi ecosystem, and increasing investment in development, testing and deployments to continue the push toward Wi-Fi ubiquity, unlicensed wireless, IoT, 5G and beyond.”
Bottom line, Wi-Fi is a foundational access technology and will figure prominently in the continuing evolution of IoT, mobile networks and general connectivity. Without carrier-grade Wi-Fi, many of these applications will prove challenging.
