Menu

M2M FEATURE NEWS

Fon Highlights 7 Points to Define the Future of Wi-Fi

By Ken Briodagh May 17, 2017

In a recent announcement, Fon, global leader in Wi-Fi implementation, has nailed the importance of Wi-Fi as an integrated and customer-centric technology through an in depth analysis of the future of Wi-Fi. The company said its study concluded that Wi-Fi, although originally designed to replace Ethernet cables in local computer networks, has become ubiquitous and critical for almost every business. Further, Alex Puregger, CEO, Fon, wrote about seven key points that he said will define the Wi-Fi revolution in the coming years.

Firstly, Wi-Fi Offloading will increase dramatically as mobile data traffic booms, fueled by video. Cisco expects a sevenfold increase in growth of mobile data traffic by 2021, and more than 60 percent of all traffic will be offloaded this year via Wi-Fi networks.

Secondly, the number of hotspots will grow exponentially, driven by carrier Wi-Fi managed hotspots. This is a significant step forward for the convergence of cellular and Wi-Fi. Today there are close to 100 million hotspots around the world, but Cisco expects more than 500 million by 2021.

Third, given the prevalence of Wi-Fi infrastructure in the majority of highly frequented spaces, such as arenas, malls, and airports, Wi-Fi will be leveraged for neutral host deployments in highly frequented spaces.

Network Functions Virtualization will also have an impact on the Wi-Fi ecosystem. The separation of Wi-Fi software from hardware functions, and provisioning from a centralized management plane, will lead to many advantages, such as service agility, enabling quick commissioning and decommissioning of new services.

Another key point is that Wi-Fi will be essential for IoT connectivity. According to the WBA, during the last year, more than 85 percent of companies have increased the priority level of IoT on their roadmap. Wi-Fi will be the technology of choice for any higher bandwidth requirements.

The Wi-Fi revolution will also be defined by home Wi-Fi, the basic battleground for the Connected Home. Many consumers are dissatisfied with the quality of their Wi-Fi connection at home and ISPs are challenged to address the issues effectively or new players will win in that field.

Finally, the Wi-Fi disruption by OTT players has only just begun. Google, Amazon, and Facebook, among others, are entering the Wi-Fi space. Through varying approaches they intend to improve overall Wi-Fi usability, use Wi-Fi to bring Internet to the next billion people, and offer Wi-Fi solutions with a customer centric and data analytics-driven approach.




Edited by Alicia Young
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

Editorial Director

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Beyond the Closet, Connecting to IoT

By: Gary Audin    11/11/2020

Two challenges arise when considering cable based IoT.

Read More

Banyan Security Enhances Secure Remote Access for Engineering Resources

By: Ken Briodagh    10/27/2020

Banyan's Continuous Authorization Can Grant or Revoke Access to Sensitive Engineering Environments and Applications in Real-time Based on TrustScore

Read More

Senet Eyes RAN Partnerships as Key to Delivering Network Services for Massive IoT

By: Arti Loftus    10/21/2020

To meet the challenges that come with providing network connectivity for IoT solutions, Senet is executing a strategy for massive IoT that will be bui…

Read More

mimik Selected by 5G Open Innovation Lab to Drive Early Adoption of 5G

By: Ken Briodagh    10/15/2020

mimik's patented Hybrid Edge Cloud platform will boost the performance and reduce the cost of 5G Networks

Read More

5G Sets New Standards for Vertical Industries' IoT Connectivity

By: Special Guest    10/13/2020

As 5G rolls out across the world, vertical industries across IoT are working on additional standards to make the technology suitable for their industr…

Read More