News
Issue #2003 - 27 (October 2003)
(Updated Oct. 22, 2003)

MARKET OUTLOOK & TRENDS

Infonetics Says - WLAN to Double Up

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Small, medium, and large organizations are planning to run a wide variety of applications over their wireless LANs, including network connectivity for guests, in-building mobile telephony, and video over IP, a trend that is driving worldwide end-user spending on wireless LAN products to grow 97% between 2003 and 2007, from $1.49 billion to $2.94 billion, according to Infonetics Research's latest study, User Plans for Wireless LANs, North America 2003.

"The good news for vendors is the increasing range of applications driving adoption of wireless LANs into the mainstream," said Richard Webb, Infonetics Research's directing analyst for wireless LANs. "Our study shows that organizations do not lack imagination in terms of the future uses for wireless LANs, nor underestimate its potential to deliver advanced applications such as voice or video over IP. However, security remains the most significant barrier to adoption for wireless LANs. The industry still has work to do to address enterprises' lingering perception of wireless LANs as insecure."

Study Synopsis
User Plans for Wireless LANs, North America 2003 is based on in-depth interviews with 240 purchase decision-making network managers at small, medium, and large organizations that use wireless LANs now or will during the next 12 months. The 265-page study features 89 reprintable data charts and offers a comprehensive look at the wireless LAN plans of North American organizations as well as the overall wireless LAN market through 2005.

Study Findings

• Security completely dominates feature wish lists for wireless LAN access points, switches, and routers 
• Over three-quarters of respondents use firewalls to secure their wireless LAN now, with over half using intrusion detection, IPSec VPN, and SSL by 2005; in short, enterprises rely on the same techniques to protect both wired and wireless LANs 
• The 802.11 market is migrating to multimode solutions (ones that support 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a), with dual 802.11a/g products likely to show strong growth in 2004 
• Performance of the IP network and quality of service are the leading factors important to respondents looking to put voice on the wireless LAN 

For more information: http://www.infonetics.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: Growth from $1.49 billion to $2.94 billion in four years is not very remarkable. Just compare with the GPS market report that says it will grow to $22 billion by 2008. The difference is how you define the market and what you include in it. Of course, GPS unit in each car will make a lot of difference in the size of the market. We sell a lot of cars every year. We would not have a Wi-Fi in the car.  

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of Securities Exchange act of 1934 in USA. Similar provisions exist in other countries. There is no assurance that the stipulated plans of vendors will be implemented. MobileInfo does not warrant the authenticity of the information. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.  All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.