Even More Wireless?

UC

Apple’s iPhone 4.0 antenna problems weren’t the only wireless news of the past few weeks. Indeed a larger story fell almost under the radar as the FCC’s plan to release roughly 500 MHz of spectrum for public auction got the official OK from the President. While it’s going to take up to ten years to make it available, the effective result is to double wireless spectrum, with much of the new spectrum likely to be purchased by commercial wireless providers.

In announcing the plan, the White House stressed data services--particularly video--as driving the need. Nemertes' 2010 benchmark data indicates that mobility comprises 13% of the typical enterprise IT budget, and is a line item that's most often growing (even in recessionary times). Enterprise IT managers are increasingly proactive, with 75% of firms now having a structured mobility plan to evaluate new technologies and devices for adoption.

And, the entrance of consumer devices such as Droid, EVO, and iPhone/iPad into the business world continues unabated, forcing many companies to develop plans to not only support devices for mail/calendaring, but to increasingly look at how they can leverage emerging mobile computing platforms for business benefit. For example, giving field workers additional capabilities to access corporate applications or collaboration services including web conferencing and video.

Given the twin trends of more spectrum and more capable devices, mobility is an area that we expect to see increasing focus on in the years ahead.