According to In-Stat, while residential WLAN equipment shipment volumes have increased strongly since Apple first launched its AirPort line of 802.11b-compliant consumer WLAN gear in 2000, prices have eroded sharply over the past several years, and few vendors are making a profit. In-Stat forecasts the SOHO/consumer AP market will rise from approximately 17.6 million units in 2004 to roughly 32.6 million units in 2009. A major story in this market is a key transition from the 802.11g air standard to MIMO-based products. "In-Stat believes that there will be a gradually shrinking price premium for MIMO/802.11n throughout the forecast period," says Sam Lucero, In-Stat analyst. "The benefits of dramatically increased range appear to be resonating with consumers, actually more so than the increased throughput offered, and we believe customers are willing to pay the extra amount for whole-home coverage." Eventually, while 802.11g will remain throughout the forecast period in very cost-optimized equipment, MIMO/802.11n will become the new primary air standard.
The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ