Wi-Fi and the Service Provider

Certified Equipment Will Accelerate Mobile Convergence

For service providers, satisfying consumer demand for this freedom is increasingly difficult because of higher expectations. The mobile pioneers — those who lugged the awkward “brick” phones, suffered spotty coverage and endured laughable battery life — may have blazed the trail for the rest of us, but today’s wireless users have far higher expectations. They want seamless connectivity, low cost, long battery life and wide coverage areas. And now, on top of voice, they want bandwidth — and lots of it.

Supplying that wireless bandwidth, and doing so in a cost-effective manner, is one of the biggest challenges facing service providers today. Fortunately, the answer is already there: Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is booming, and has become a must-have technology. By the end of this year, IDC reports that 90 percent of notebooks will ship with Wi-Fi technology inside. Tens of thousands of wireless access points, known as hotspots, are listed in directories such as www.wi-fizone.org and www.jiwire.com, with more added daily. Service providers have entered the public access market, offering value-added access services in coffee shops, airports, hotels and beyond.

Wi-Fi is proven technology, scalable and secure for use at home and in the enterprise. Wi-Fi adoption — fueled by a desire for freedom — has been enabled by confidence in Wi-Fi equipment. That confidence is due in large part to the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED program.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED program was created and nurtured by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a global, nonprofit industry trade association devoted to promoting the growth of wireless LANs.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED designation offers the assurance of interoperability with other certified equipment. Certification plays an important marketing role — customers buy with confidence — but the technical requirements for certification lead to an improved end-user experience, easier installation and operation, reduced product returns and lower technical support costs for service providers.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment offers tangible benefits to enterprise and consumer users today and will be a critical part of every carrier’s Wi-Fi equipment procurement strategy as Wi-Fi becomes a key component of the total service offering.

Combining the capabilities of Wi-Fi and pervasive hotspots with cellular networks is a smart move for service providers. Wi-Fi is an inexpensive, fast, widespread way to deliver more broadband content to cellular subscribers. Converged devices able to take advantage of Wi-Fi hotspots can provide a rich, dynamic broadband experience that helps attract new subscribers and retain existing subscribers.

The demand for Wi-Fi/cellular converged devices is growing. With up to 100 million converged devices expected to ship in 2009, the marriage of cellular and Wi-Fi technologies could comprise 20 percent of the WLAN market in that year, according to IDC.

Subscribers will see these Wi-Fi-enabled devices as an economical way to gain broadband Internet access, and service providers will realize increased revenue from charging even a small monthly fee for Wi-Fi access capabilities. In addition, Wi-Fi access capabilities easily can be used to drive interest in a host of data and content offerings. Offloading cellular traffic to Wi-Fi access points frees up valuable bandwidth and allows more subscribers to be served with existing networks.

Wi-Fi and converged handsets are an incredibly powerful way to expand the service footprint, boost available bandwidth, serve more customers on current cellular networks, increase customer satisfaction and reduce churn.

Service providers have a multitude of options when choosing handsets to offer their subscribers. Today’s phones sport features such as still and video cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, memory card slots and game consoles. The most valuable customers want the latest features, and Wi-Fi may well be the next must-have capability. Choosing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment will ensure these demanding users have the best possible service experience. By requiring all handsets be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, carriers can ensure a smooth rollout and rapid uptake of a valuable new service.

The Wi-Fi Alliance will launch programs to certify Wi-Fi/cellular devices in 2006 to report performance and interoperability of handsets with WLAN functionality. Testing will occur in one of the Alliance’s independent Authorized Test Labs worldwide.

Frank Hanzlik is managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. He can be reached at info@wi-fi.org

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