Report reflects increasing WLAN enthusiasm

About a third of US enterprises have deployed wireless LANs, according to a recent report by Sage Research, titled " Wireless LAN Adoption: A Quantitative Analysis. " Nearly half of the companies surveyed by the research firm say that by 2003 they will use wireless LANs as commonly as they use wired LANs, according to the report.

Sage, headquartered in Natick, Mass., surveyed 129 companies across multiple industries and concluded that wireless LANs, which have been around for many years, are indeed moving from niche applications into the mainstream. More than 57% of organizations have plans to install a wireless LAN in the next two years (whether or not they already have one installed), according to Sage data.

Some of the main reasons found by Sage's user survey are as follows:

* Laptop- and PDA-equipped employees need network access.

* 802.11 standards are established and are supported by several credible companies.

* Prices are coming down.

* Technology has advanced to better address issues of security, reliability, speed and distance.

* Network managers need to reduce cabling changes necessitated by employee adds, moves and changes.

This last point is likely becoming a growing factor, as corporate mergers, reorganizations, and decentralization are fueling tendencies for continual workspace shuffling.

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Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Campbell, Calif., who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com.

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