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Wi-Fi at peak of inflated expectations but needs to keep going, report
The good news: Wi-Fi hotspot numbers in Europe will grow from 829 in 2002 to 15,308 in 2003, before climbing to 39,009 in 2005, according to research firm Gartner
However, Gartner has also warned that expectations for Wi-Fi hotspots to deliver widespread public wireless internet access in the near future are currently artificially high. According to Gartner's 'Hype Cycle' analysis, when Wi-Fi hotspots fail to meet the hopes of the current short-term "inflated expectations," a "trough of disillusionment" will follow until hot spots are allowed time to mature into a sustainable access platform and reach the "plateau of productivity."
All very zen, isn't it? Well, despite the warning (which most of us had probably already cottoned onto by now), Gartner still reports that the number of Wi-Fi hot spot users worldwide is forecast to reach 9.3m users in 2003, up from 2.5m users in 2002. Europe will account for 1.7m of these, with Germany forecast to be the European leader by 2006.
Get full article: http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16818
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Is the "Wi-Fi" wireless internet boom about to turn into a bust?
IT ALL sounds ominously familiar. A new technology emerges and is rapidly embraced by technology enthusiasts. Hundreds of firms spring up, hoping to cash in on its expected breakthrough into the mass market. Profits, or having a sensible business model, are forgotten in the rush. But demand proves elusive, a painful bust ensues, and only a handful of firms survive. It happened during dotcom mania and is now about to happen again, albeit on a smaller scale, to Wi-Fi, a popular way to surf the internet wirelessly.
Get full article: http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1883109
The Wi-Fi Revolution
The wireless Internet has arrived -- and now the sky's the limit.
By Chris Anderson
"The technology is Wi-Fi, and it's the first blast in a revolution, called open spectrum, that will drive the Internet to the next stage in its colonization of the globe. Like the Net itself, Wi-Fi was confined to technical circles for years before exploding into the mainstream, seemingly out of nowhere. Over the past two years, it's become one of the fastest-growing electronics technologies in history."
Get full article: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/unwired/wifirevolution.html
WiFi Industry Basics
Wi-Fi has rapidly emerged as a major force in wireless. It is faster and cheaper than any alternative, and it is spreading like wildfire.
Wi-Fi is a globally accepted standard, a single platform of wireless innovation. Wi-Fi radio components are already tracking a consumer adoption cost curve towards commodity prices no other wireless data technology has yet ever achieved, and the result will be a flood of inexpensive network equipment and a plethora of end user devices.
Millions of Wi-Fi networks have already sprouted up in homes and enterprises across the world, and entrepreneurs seeking to tap a wide open market are flooding airports, hotels, cafes and other public spaces with Wi-Fi hot spots, at a cost of deployment orders of magnitude lower than cellular technology.
Get full article: http://www.boingo.com/wi-fi_industry_basics5.html
Half the World's Hot Spots. Broadband-crazy South Korea is rushing into Wi-Fi, too
By Moon Ihlwan in Seoul
South Korea didn't set out to beat every other nation to the latest info-tech and telecom innovations, but sometimes it seems that way. Korea leads the world in the number of high-speed wireless phone connections and interactive online computer game players. And it has by far the highest proportion of fixed-line broadband subscribers -- 10.7 million households, 70% of the total in a population of 48 million. So no one should be surprised that in the competition to set up Wi-Fi hot spots, Korea is kilometers ahead of the pack.
Get full article:
http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_17/b3830610.htm
Business week online/Special report on WiFi technology
Read articles: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/03_17/B38300317wifi.htm
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