Six Competitive Factors for Wi-Fi HotSpot Success
Figure 1. Wi-Fi hotspot Market Development 2001-Present  Provider consolidation is occurring among both the small “mom and pop” operations as well as among the major telecom operators. The smaller providers are finding it difficult to compete against the increasingly sophisticated service offerings of the more established providers and are thus selling off their footprint or simply exiting the market. Some of the telecom operators previously operating hotspot networks have determined that purchasing access through wholesale relationships is the better model. The second element of this paradigm shift is network improvements. Providers are enhancing their networks to better sustain higher traffic loads and multiple traffic types. Backhaul is being upgraded to support increasing usage as well as to support dual direction traffic. Traffic management capabilities are being implemented to assign priority levels to traffic, a capability that will be important for the emerging opportunity for VoIP carried over hotspot networks. The paradigm shift of consolidation and network enhancement was set in motion in 2006, but is still in its initial stages. Only a small portion of providers have implemented network upgrades, and the effect of these upgrades is yet to be fully realized. As this new paradigm for the Wi-Fi hotspot market transpires, new opportunities emerge as do challenges. © Copyright Wi-Fi Technology Forum and Multimedia Intelligence (http://www.multimediaintelligence.com). All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited, and is permissible only with express written authorization.
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