Wi-Fi for Everything?
More than 294 million consumer electronics devices equipped with WiFi were shipped in 2007 and that number is quickly growing and will likely reach 1 billion by 2012. The fastest-growing embedded WiFi segment is mobile handsets. By 2011, dual-mode cell phones will probably surpass PCs as the largest category of Wi-Fi devices.
There are multiple applications using WiFi; e.g., handheld devices, laptops, printers, digital video recorders, cable set top boxes, game consoles, audio equipment and other consumer electronics devices. Soon, digital cameras will let you wirelessly send photos to your PC where they are automatically saved to a folder that you pre-defined and in the same way, wireless technology could be used to connect TVs to various devices like set top boxes, DVDs and DRVs; all in an effort to eliminate cords and add flexibility to the home network.
If we talk about all the possibilities for deploying WiFi networks we probably never would finish but here are a few examples of well known WiFi applications;
- Restaurants (like Panera Bread, Dairy Queen , Starbucks, etc.) with multiple franchise locations offer Free WiFi
- Airports and VIP waiting rooms
- National and Regional Hotel, Motel, and Resort chains
- RV Parks and Campgrounds
- Vacation Rental Properties with Free WiFi for Renters
- Commuter rail lines like the Framingham/Worcester Line
- Public Parks. The City of Stamford, in conjunction with the Ferguson Library. Stamford’s Public Library provided its users who hold a public library card access to a wireless Internet Service Network (WiFi) in Columbus Park.
- University Campuses. Ninety percent of college students in the United States say WiFi access is as essential to education as classrooms and computers and nearly three in five say they would not go to a college that doesn’t have free WiFi
- Commercial Airlines. Delta is to become Only Major U.S. Airline to offer Broadband WiFi access across its’ entire Domestic Mainline Fleet
- Buses. Mountain Metropolitan Transit in Colorado Springs first offered WiFi on buses in 2004 and now WiFi access is available in many USA cities such as San Francisco, Reno, Austin and Seattle.
- Marine Terminals. One of the most critical junctures in modern container shipping occurs on land at the marine terminal where 30 ton-cargo containers must be unloaded, moved and stacked in the open, and re-shipped over land. These marine terminals, characterized by as large open areas filled with expensive logistics equipment, are beginning to use WiFi enabled communications and tracking devices to provide more real-time, remote instructions for machine operators which expedites container management logistics and provides better container tracking for security reasons.
- Warehouses using WiFi handheld devices for inventory management.
- WiFi spots for vehicles. Avis has announced they will offer WiFi for a reasonable price per day for high speed Internet service in its cars
- Hospitals. A Wireless service is offered free of charge to patients at Winchester Hospital in Winchester, Mass. They installed WiFi at Winchester’s acute care hospital in patient rooms, waiting rooms and other common areas. Additionally, physicians have access to a private network.
With these few examples, it is easy to see that by 2012 more than 1 billion WiFi enable devices will be shipped and this estimate may actually be low.
So how can you benefit from this trend? You can sell ABP’s Altai Technology Super Wi-Fi Solutions the worlds leading long-range Wi-Fi base station for resellers and service providers in the America.
ABP Team
