* Study shows interest in voice over WLANs, but it’s not the killer app
In the just-released “Webtorials Wireless LAN (WLAN) State-of-the-Market Report,” the conclusion was that while voice over Wi-Fi is an important part of the market, it is not a primary driver toward Wi-Fi deployment.
The report was based on a survey of 419 Webtorials subscribers and authored by Joanie Wexler, who also writes Network World’s Wireless in the Enterprise newsletter.
VoWiFi deployment was chosen as a primary driver by only 20% of respondents, essentially equal in importance with reducing cabling costs (22%). By contrast, “improving knowledge worker productivity through mobility” was the most popular driver for deployment, chosen as a primary driver by more than twice as many respondents (48%).
This lukewarm attitude toward VoWiFi was mirrored in the report’s finding that it was in the middle of the pack as a WLAN-based application, with about 21% of respondents having deployed this technology. On a more positive note, though, an additional 44% indicated plans to deploy VoWiFi within the next two years.
Respondents were split on plans for deploying Wi-Fi-only handsets and dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets, with half (when you take into account those who have already deployed and those who are planning to within the next two years) siding with each type.
Next time we’ll continue this discussion with some comments on why determining the impact of VoWiFi is a particularly difficult question.
