We Asked the Experts

Virtual Round Table

Question: According to a recent survey by Motorola, nearly one-half of organizations have deployed WiFi networks. What is the biggest obstacle holding back the other half of those organizations from ripping out their wires and adopting wireless as their LAN network of choice? What will it take to overcome this obstacle? And what can service providers specifically do to speed along adoption?

Richard Webb Directing Analyst, WiMAX, WiFi, & Mobile Devices Infonetics Research

There will always be a proportion of the overall user base that won’t feel any great imperative to move towards wireless and that has other networking priorities. But I think that is a shrinking proportion.

For others, there are cost issues and caution about what to spend money on. Some have other IT priorities such as Gigabit to the desktop. It’s not possible for IT departments to enforce an entire revolution on every new technology all at once. You have to phase these things in. So some are going to adopt WiFi but it’s just not their time yet. I don’t think the adoption of WiFi has peaked or plateaued yet.

For others, there is still a concern about WLAN security, whether or not they really understand the strides forward that wireless LAN security has made. Actually, WLAN with 802.11i is a very robust security protocol. If it is deployed correctly, it is at least as secure as most wired LAN security protocols. So integrators and service providers can assist by educating people about WLAN’s security benefits and by ensuring that the security capabilities of the WLAN’s they deploy have been tightly screwed down.

Another possible inhibitor of adoption, which is actually a positive inhibitor, is the increasing number of enterprises that are looking at FMC/unified communication. They know it’s the place they want to get to, but they are not entirely sure how to get there. They also know that wireless is going to be part of that, but they realize there is a whole ecosystem beyond their wireless access points that they have to consider.

I think some enterprises are putting some things on hold while they wait for these technologies to mature and seamlessly synchronize with one another so they can see the interplay between different technologies that now are still in early phases of adoption. For example, WLAN and VoIP are pretty mature, but combining the two is not, especially when you add in other unified communications applications on top. Overall, I think the ongoing education of the market has to continue.

There also is something of a push back coming from the cellular world and companies offering mobile broadband data plans for handheld devices as well as a lot of effort by mobile operators to push Picocell and Femtocell into the enterprise. While that may nibble away at WiFi a little bit, there’s no way that WLAN is going away. It’s far too ubiquitous and it is an improving technology. We are going to see a world where there are multiple wireless connectivity options and WiFi is going to continue to be a very important option.

Stan Schatt Vice President and Research Director, Wireless Connectivity ABI Research

There are some companies that essentially do not need WiFi because they are too small. For example, penetration is always going to be low for forest rangers and small companies with blue-collar workforces. Some have only one PC, while others have none at all.

Another issue is bandwidth. Large institutions and companies that have made infrastructure investments in Fast Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet are not going to rip that out and put in a shared bandwidth system. But that will change as WiFi evolves to 802.11n networks that offer 600 Mbps of bandwidth. Right now some sales offices, small branch offices and greenfields, etc. could go to WiFi, but the bandwidth it offers today would not be sufficient for them to run some of their bandwidth intensive applications.

Today, companies with WiFi networks are getting about 170 Mbps of actual throughput from them. Toward the end of this year, we’ll start to see new chipsets that raise WiFi’s bandwidth to a theoretical 600 Mbps and actual 300 Mbps of throughput. When we start to see that, it will be possible for companies that need the extra bandwidth to move to WiFi.

Another factor impacting WiFi deployment is that roughly 25 to 30 percent of PCs turn over each year. The newer PCs come with built-in 802.11n chipsets. As we move forward, there will be a higher percentage of PCs and laptops with built-in 802.11n in the installed base. This in turn will make it easier for more people to get onto high bandwidth wireless networks.

Mark Lowenstein Managing Director Mobile Ecosystem

Number one is security. Some organizations are not confident that WiFi is secure and they believe it is harder to control who is getting on their network. WiFi security has improved significantly in the past two or three years, but it is still viewed by some companies as an issue.

The second thing is QoS. WiFi connectivity does not offer the same expectations for QoS as a fixed line connection. If there are a lot of users on a WiFi network at a particular time then service can degrade. It is difficult to arrange a WiFi network so that the QoS level is consistent throughout a day. Each of the successive releases of WiFi improves upon and addresses some of the shortcomings of the previous generation but it’s still not the same as wireline.

I’m finding that most organizations have some sort of hybrid of the two—which is people with desktops have a fixed connection and then WLAN is used as a complement in common work areas such as cafeterias, shop floor or areas where it’s difficult, expensive or challenging to run a physical wire.

They have invested a lot of money in building out a wired infrastructure. So, particularly from somebody’s desktop where they sit and work, there is no overriding need to go wireless. Wireless is needed in situations where you are mobile and that doesn’t necessarily mean running around traveling or in your car, etc. It could mean you are away from your primary workspace.

One of the drivers that takes us from 50 percent to a higher number is the expectation among office workers today that there be a ubiquity of connectivity. In other words, “I always need to be connected wherever I am.” So that makes the case for WiFi as a complement to wired infrastructure. A feeling of, “I can’t be away from my workspace and not be connected for three or four hours.” The workplace is getting to be that way more and more and it’s an increased need of employees. It’s the same phenomenon that has given rise to the smart phone.