Wi-Fi Adoption In China to grow 45% annually

• Posted: Thursday, July 13, 2006
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• Author: pradhana

Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director, Frank Hanzlik, said that China is already an important strategic market for our industry, and we believe it presents a very attractive growth opportunity in the coming years. It is because the enterprise networking and voice application segments are particular areas of opportunity, and our Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® programs help ensure that Chinese Wi-Fi users have the very best experience with Wi-Fi devices as adoption becomes more widespread.

On the other hand, the enterprise market for Wi-Fi technology in China is expected to increase fourfold, with a 45% annual growth rate for the market as a whole, over the next 3 years according to a new white paper sponsored by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Developed by Chinese research firm Analysys International, the report describes a new wave of Wi-Fi expansion in China, fueled by increased broadband penetration and less expensive Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, bringing Wi-Fi to homes, offices and public spaces. The market for non-embedded Wi-Fi equipment, such as access points and external network cards, is expected to exceed RMB 10 billion by 2008.

FactFile
Some ten thousand Wi-Fi hotspots and the world's largest population of mobile phone subscribers make China a key long-term market for Wi-Fi-enabled consumer and enterprise devices.

• The enterprise segment is adopting Wi-Fi at the fastest rate in China, especially for internal use, and the market for enterprise Wi-Fi equipment is expected to reach four times its current size by 2009.
• Chinese telecom operators, who invested heavily in hotspot deployments, are now also focusing on providing home Wi-Fi networks as a value added service to basic broadband access. This new growth will be accelerated by China's current building boom with developers expected to equip homes with Wi-Fi.

Eagle Zhang, Vice President of Research, Analysys International, said that he expect the Wi-Fi market to reach RMB 10.3 billion in 2008. More Wi-Fi products will emerge in 2007, mobile office and mobile entertainment will continue to develop and Wi-Fi Home user market development will speed up.

Wi-Fi is strongly positioned for indoor coverage. With the expected 3G development in China, operators will pay more attention to promising FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) services. “Wi-Fi and 3G will be a good choice of China carriers in the initial stage of FMC," Zhang added.

In the rapidly-growing Chinese market, Wi-Fi technology will be complementary to cellular 3G and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). With its affordability, versatility, and high data rate, Wi-Fi will continue to be an important part of the larger wireless ecosystem in China. Chinese consumers are coming to demand seamless connectivity on devices ranging from laptops to home entertainment gear, and Wi-Fi has a major role to play in keeping all of those devices connected.

Source: Wi-Fi Adoption In China Is Gaining Momentum

More on Wi-Fi: 82,000 Locations Worldwide Offer Hotspots For Wi-Fi Users

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