Power of Information-anywhere, everywhere

Description:

In todays digital world people and organizations are striving for the need of information all the time to improve their business performance and to stay connected at all times. In U.S. alone there are 36 million business travelers, 27 million of whom carry laptops and have the need to have important information while traveling. Nowadays with extreme competition and mature markets companies can really benefit from critical information at the right time to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Wi-Fi is an answer to this requirement as it is not bound by the limitations of wires. Imagine a sales person being able to access the company intranet from the customer site to make a proposal , look up for key information from the database etc. The CEO gives important inputs for a multi billion dollar contract to his staff while on the airplane.Wi-Fi enables to access large databases, download huge files and videos and access email instantly. The seamless availability of information can streamline business processes of a company, improve the responsiveness towards customers and suppliers and companies overall become more efficient.

In the fast changing world with increased competition people need information all the time. When they are travelling, when they are driving, when they are at home , when they are on a vacation , when they are in the airlines, or trains or restaurants they need information everytime. The power of Wi-Fi can make this possible by providing access to the internet anywhere and everywhere. Firms and corporations who can provide these facilities to their employees, customers and suppliers will have an upper hand as compared to their competitors.

Even in the simplest usage at home, imagine accessing the internet from a fixed location and imagine accessing the emails from anywhere in the house, sitting on the sofa or the living room or the kitchen without any wires and different connections. This is the power of Wi-Fi which can help to access information from anywhere without the inconvenience of wiring the entire location.

For business travelers hot spots have been placed at hotels, airports, train stations and cafes to help them access critical information everytime. But companies like Boingo and Vivato are making internet access for larger areas and complete cities. As stated by CEO of vivato, Ken Biba that "You'd need just 30 to 50 Vivato switches to turn all of Dartmouth into a hot spot. And it may go further than that". This shows that the critical information required by the people will be available anywhere and everywhere by the Wi-Fi networks.

Information not ony in the form of data from the internet access everywhere made available by Wi-Fi but also by taking to each other from all locations over the Wi-Fi network is possible. Cellular comapnies will integrate the mobiles with Wi-Fi and thus people can talk to each other and share information over the Wi-Fi Network.

Enablers:

• The Wi-Fi technlogy itself
• Increased global competition
• The ease of setting up a Wi-Fi network
• The increased use of Internet and its benefits
• The globalization of companies and the increased traveling of people to other countries to meet customers , suppliers and employees
• Improved Customer Satisfaction
• Decreased costs of operation and improved Return On Investment
• Cost of Setting up a Wi-Fi Network
• Improved productivity
• The Rapid Increase in WiFi Transmission Rates
• Voice over Wi-Fi (Vo-Wi-Fi) will be released
• Need for Information On Demand
• Increasing Mobility
• Wireless is better than wire

Inhibitors:

• The security of the critical information-threat of hacking information
• The cost of Setting up a complete Wi-Fi enabled world
• Reliabiity in terms of the coverage area
• Interference with other equipments and frequencies- For example in Airplanes
• Uninterrupted connection across diffeent regions
• Integration with existing networks and euipments
• Performance of the network
• Increasing social isolation
• Emergence of new Technology Related Diseases

Paradigms:

Th rate at which the Wi-Fi hot spots and wi-Fi users are growing shows the power and importance of information required by the users. According to Gartner the number of users using Wi-Fi will reach 99 million by 2006 and further increase. "In a conservative estimate, ABI, a technology think tank in Oyster Bay, N.Y., predicts worldwide hotspots will grow in the next five years from 28,500 to 208,000". It is a matter of time when companies like Boingo, Cometa and others will provide Wi-Fi access in the whole city and also across different cities with some kind of roaming arrangement between them as it is within the cellular industry at this moment.

Experts:

• Wi-Fi and the future of wireless by Gregory M. Lamb-staff writer of the Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0105/p13s02-wmgn.html

• The Wi-Fi Revolution by Chris Anderson

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/unwired/wifirevolution.html

Timing:

• In 1997, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) drafted the 802.11 standard for wireless local area networking.

• In 1999, the 802.11b standard was drafted and accepted by the networking industry, and products for wireless networking over the 2.4GHz frequency began being produced

• Between 1995-2005 the number of Hot Spots that have grown from around 28000 to over 200,000 approximately

• By 2005 number of people using Wi-Fi would be around 80 Million

• Between 2002-2005 companies like Boingo have set up roaming agreements with other Wi-Fi service providers to provide uninterrupted Wi-fi across different cities.

Web Resources:

• http://www.fiercewireless.com/topics/wifi.asp

• http://www.wi-fi.org/OpenSection/articles.asp?TID=5

• http://www.bitpipe.com/rlist/term/Wi-Fi.html

• http://www.boingo.com/wi-fi_industry_basics_2.html

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