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