Affordable, reliable wireless is on its way
However, research firm Gartner says in a report that the corporate importance of mobile and wireless technologies will continue to increase, and technology and service providers can expect steady growth in most mobile markets for several years.
It also says Microsoft will emerge as a dominant player in providing the software that runs a growing number of wireless devices.
Most people who use wireless technology do so because it allows them to work from wherever they happen to be. Cellphones made on-the-road voice communication possible but early attempts at making data available on the devices were disastrous.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) allowed sluggish access to data on cellphones and torpedoed quick adoption. Newer technologies like GPRS make the online wireless experience better but not more compelling than that which is currently possible on tethered connections like ADSL.
“There has to be a good business reason for going wireless in order to make it profitable,” says Brandon Leigh, chief executive of Leaf Wireless.
He says technologies like Wi-Fi, which use hotspots at locations like airports and hotels to deliver wireless broadband Internet access, don’t have a business context yet.
“Companies aren’t making money off the technology so while it is used by many people, it is not yet a money-spinner. The commercial model is just not there.”
Wi-Fi will also face increasing competition from a faster wireless standard called Wi-MAX. Gartner forecasts that the market for Wi-MAX will not exceed a million connections until later this year, and stronger growth will not materialise until 2008 when the technology will be widely available as a “nomadic broadband solution”.
Leigh says wireless data transfer over cellular networks will compete head-to-head with ADSL when High Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) technology is available for cellular networks in future.
However, cellular networks are cautious about spending money on the technology. European networks, particularly, got burnt financially by spending heavily on high-speed wireless technology licences with minimal returns.
Other high-speed wireless technology for mobile devices available to South Africans include MyWireless from Sentech and iBurst from WBS.
While both systems had teething problems, Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, WBS managing director, says subscriber growth is significant. “Access to wireless broadband will gather momentum as new base stations are rolled out.”
Both MyWireless and iBurst operate in major centres and a general rule of thumb is that where there’s coverage, there’s reliable access.
Leigh says new Digital Video Broadcast for Hand-helds (DVB-H) technology will bring satellite TV-type services to mobile devices.
“There is an issue around screen size, particularly on mobile phones, but already handset manufacturers are working on foldable options.”
Greg Cress, divisional manager at the Siemens Communications Networks technology unit, says: “Other technologies on the horizon will include the ability to have one-to-many conversations with groups and also parallel data connections, so you will be able to show the person you are speaking to what you are seeing, through video transmission.”
Many executives view security as a great challenge when sending and receiving data wirelessly. Security expert, Ian Melamed, MD of Shaya Technologies, says hacking into wireless networks is common, but they can be protected.
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