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Friday, 23 November 2007 |
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Why not?
Disruptive Analysis’ suggestion that mobile voice over IP (VoIP) will rapidly eclipse voice over Wi-Fi and become a mainstream form of communication (click) is presumably not one shared by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA). Earlier this month that organisation announced that more than 4,000 products have been Wi-Fi CERTIFED™ since the testing programme began in March of 2000. Growth in the diversity of Wi-Fi-enabled product types, including consumer electronics and dual-mode mobile phones, as well as next-generation 802.11n draft 2.0 products, have led to the certification of more than 1,000 Wi-Fi® products over the last 15 months.
The WFA cites the ABI Research prediction that by 2012 90% of Wi-Fi chipsets shipped will support 802.11n. “Wi-Fi has become a ubiquitous technology that is part of our daily lives, whether we are connecting at home, at work, at an airport, at a park, or at a local coffee shop. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED brings more confidence that Wi-Fi products will work together and have the latest security protections on board,” says Karen Hanley, senior director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. “By offering Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products, manufacturers and telecom carriers help ensure higher customer satisfaction, which ultimately improves their bottom lines.”
ABI Research predicts that as many as 1.2bn Wi-Fi chipsets will ship in 2012. Of those shipments, more than 500mn are estimated to be in mobile handset devices and 326mn in consumer electronics. The research firm also predicts that in 2012 the Wi-Fi industry will generate more than US$19bn in Wi-Fi products in services.
John Williamson |
