Pyramid Research, predicts that more Americans will use Wi-Fi than 2.5G or 3G cellular networks for data purposes by 2007. It forecasts that revenues from hotspots will be $1.5bn by 2008, although the growth of Wi-Fi will also help boost cellular operators’ business. Pyramid has found a high correlation between hotspot usage and cellular data subscriptions, suggesting that many users will fork out for multiple data services in order to ensure access wherever they are. …..>T-Mobile says that 30 per cent of its hotspot subscribers also have cellular data plans. “This trend should be a wake-up call to any carrier offering or planning to offer a cellular data service,” Pyramid said, endorsing T-Mobile’s strategy of early, heavy investment in hotspots.

“We believe that by bundling Wi-Fi and cellular, T-Mobile has created a service worth more than the sum of its parts,” the report concluded. It is critical of operators that have chosen to position their cellular service as competitive with Wi-Fi rather than offering a dual platform.

In 2003, WLAN equipment sales totalled $2.8bn, up from $1.6bn a year earlier, while chipsets brought in $760m, up from $436m. Projections for the future are that the number of Wi-Fi devices will reach 167.8m units in 2008, 12 times greater than the 2003 figure of 14.2m worldwide.

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