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Friday, May 25, 2007
Industry estimates over a billion units will be shipped by 2011 globally. India is likely to increase to 800 million units
Wi-Fi Alliance is targeting the growth in the notebook sales to increase the usability of Wi-Fi in the country.
The growth in the laptop sales in India has increased the optimism of the Wi-Fi Alliance and is expecting to increase the penetration level among the households and the enterprise segment. Frank Hanzlik, managing director, Wi-Fi Alliance in an exclusive chat with Bhaskar Hazarika from CyberMedia News shared the objective of the Alliance on the new look of the logo and the new 802.11n technology standard, which gives twice improvement in data rate.
What is the 802.11n technology? How is it different from the earlier standards?
It is a new standard through which the consumers will have the advantage of whole home coverage and content rich applications. It has the potential to deliver up to five times the throughput and up to twice the range of previous-generation Wi-Fi gear. Streaming high-definition video, online gaming with multiple users on a single network, and speedy file transfer of photos and music will witness a huge transformation with faster transfer rate. Enterprise users will be able to leverage 802.11n products to increase network capacity and improve robustness.
Compared to the previous standards (802.11g or 802.11a), which offered 54 mbps, this technology offers internet speed more than 250 mbps. The connectivity radius will also be enhanced to 200 meters from 100 meters in an open air environment.
What are the drivers for Wi-Fi technology in India? From a global perspective how do you see the penetration of Wi-Fi in India?
Sale of notebooks and broadband penetration together will enhance the penetration of Wi-Fi in the country. As it targeted to connect the local area network, it can be suitable for offices, home users, universities, schools, airports, railways stations, cafeterias and restaurants. The connectivity can be received through a single access point within a distance of 200 meters in open air environment. With the high-end phones having inbuilt Wi-Fi connectivity, this will drive its penetration.
India is at a nascent stage. Currently, only a couple of corporate offices, airports and railway stations have the Wi-Fi connectivity. From a global perspective the US and UK has the highest penetration of Wi-Fi and huge number of users. In the Asia-Pacific region Singapore, Taiwan and Japan are witnessing a growth in the penetration. However, China is picking up.
What is the objective of the new logo for the Alliance?
As the Wi-Fi Alliance certification program starts late June we have got this new look. This is not a new look but an addition of an ‘n’, which is a new standard.
You have a Wi-Fi pre-certification lab in Bangalore? When do you think that the 802.11n products will be shipped globally?
We have a pre-certification lab in Bangalore, which is being done by Wipro. We had set up the lab in 2006 for the convenience of the companies to get the certification of their products. We have 11 pre-certification labs across the globe.
The new standard product will be shipped in June this year. This will be a global launch of the new standard, which will revolutionize the entire process of wireless connectivity with faster data rate.
What are the projections being made by the industry on the growth in the number of units shipped?
In the year 2000, five million units were shipped globally and in 2006, 200 million units. According to a study by InStat ‘over a billion units will be shipped by 2011’.
According to a research by Tonse Telecom, Bangalore, in the next five years the market in India is likely to increase to 800 million units.
What is the total base of members in the Wi-Fi alliance? Can you share some numbers on the participation from the Asia-Pacific region?
Currently we have more than 300 member companies in the Alliance. Eighty per cent of the product, silicon and hardware companies are our members. A number of telecom service providers are also members of this alliance.
We have received positive response from the Asia-Pacific region. 45 per cent of the member companies are from the APAC region and majority participation from North Asia.
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