UC
Despite all the promise of fixed mobile convergence, 3G, and ever-increasing WLAN speeds, most workers are still tethered to a jack on the wall for their network connectivity just as they have been since the days of thick wire and coax. But thanks to the promise of 802.11n and 4G technologies, there’s a new opportunity for IT managers to rethink the use of wireless services as an alternative to wired. Wireless LAN services are fairly ubiquitous in the enterprise today; ninety-six percent of companies have deployed some form of WLAN services. Despite this high rate of adoption, many companies still restrict WLAN access points to conference rooms or common areas due to little business justification to deliver WLAN access that covers all office spaces. With the finalization of the 802.11n standard earlier this year, many IT architects are looking at WiFi as an alternative to wired offices. Yet those discussions frequently stall out due to concerns over how to prevent coverage gaps, or fear that an emerging application such as high definition video will still require a wired connection. Concerns that someone will find themselves in a dead-spot, or that contention issues will impact latency-sensitive or bandwidth-intensive applications persist. Still, we see a growing interest among our research participants in using 802.11n coupled with various vendor approaches to ensuring universal coverage to reduce wired infrastructure, especially in new buildings (accepting that some level of wired services are required to support access points, immersive video, and legacy devices). Two new technologies have the potential to change how IT architects view wireless services – 4G and Femtocells. 4G services such as Clear’s WiMax and emerging LTE offerings from companies including AT&T and Verizon have the potential over time to replace WLANs for wireless users. Thanks to their ability to support multi-megabit access, WiMax and LTE offerings enable IT architects to outsource their wireless infrastructure to a service provider. Femtocells serving as in-building carrier wireless access points solve the problem of lack of coverage as well as interference from public wireless users by providing business customers with their own local, and secure access to WiMax and LTE services. The use of carrier services for wireless access also supports the growing trend of employee-owned or corporate-provided wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets. As these devices shift from adjunct to primary means of accessing applications for many workers, bringing public wireless services into the workplace could replace the need for WiFi, and with it, the challenge of moving phone calls or other applications between wireless networks. While public wireless as an alternative to WLAN offers great promise, it’s still early in the game. Clear’s WiMax services are still growing, and we don’t expect to see large-scale LTE deployments until 2012 to 2013. Still, as you look at your long-term wireless planning strategy, keep your eye on the potential for public services to change the way you bring wireless to your employees.
