Wireless Internet Market

May 2002

Two of the most successful technologies of the 20th century – the Internet and mobile telephony – have formed another promising technology, wireless Internet access, but the great promise of this technology remains unfilled. Will it ever be realized? According to Pioneer Consulting’s latest market & technology assessment report, Wireless Internet Access over Unlicensed Spectrum: An Alternative to 3G Mobile Data Networks, wireless Internet access offers a sizable market opportunity with global equipment revenues expected to grow from $3.1 billion (USD) in 2002 to $19.1 billion in 2008. Profiting from this growth will be 4th Generation (4G) wireless equipment providers such as Avaya, Nokia, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, Compaq, Linksys among others.

Initially, the market opportunity for wireless Internet access was not realized for several reasons including, its prematurity, lack of development and the market’s failure to recognize these realities. Today, however, the Internet and mobile worlds are finally beginning to converge, creating a new market that will entail impressive growth.

According to Pioneer Consulting’s report, the market for wireless Internet access will begin to take off over the next few years, as mobile operators, wireless ISPs, and fixed operators begin to build “hot spot” locations based on 4G technology (wireless LANs based on 802.11b, a, g, HIPERLAN standards) and 2.5G and 3G networks. The report predicts that service provider revenues for mobile and wireless Internet access will grow from $1.0 billion (USD) in 2002 to $18.4 billion by 2008. 4G service providers including Voicestream (through Mobilestar purchase), Wayport, Boingo and Air2LAN are inline to see revenues increase with the adoption of wireless Internet access technology.

“Lower equipment costs, higher bandwidth services, access to corporate intranets, and focus on high-traffic areas will help 4G succeed where previous generations of mobile data struggled,” says Paul Kellett, senior director of research at Pioneer Consulting. “In addition, the large potential user base created by the phenomenal growth of wireless networking will help to spur the rapid growth predicted for public access.”

The Wireless Internet Access over Unlicensed Spectrum: An Alternative to 3G Mobile Data Networks report examines the potential developments that are driving growth in the wireless Internet access market, including utilizing unlicensed spectrum, the “so-called” 4G technologies, through public access locations, and how this will interact with existing mobile communications. The report also provides a realistic assessment of the market opportunity by examining the developments driving the growth of wireless Internet access, the likely technologies involved, the impact the technologies will have on equipment manufacturers, and the business models that will likely develop to service customers.

For greater perspective on the wireless internet market worldwide, Computer Industry Almanac estimated in March 2002 that by 2007, over 50% of global internet users will be wireless internet users.

Source: Pioneer Consulting & eMarketer

 
 
 
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