A new study by Informa Telecoms and Media is projecting a more than 45 percent increase in mobile subscribers in the Caribbean between 2004 and 2009. The report shows a steady growth in this market predicating from 10.1 million by end of 2004 to 14.7 million by 2009. The study provides a comprehensive view of how the mobile revolution is reaching out to over 40 million inhabitants of the 31 political entities that make up the insular and mainland Caribbean. It shows how successive waves of market opening and investment are transforming the region�s communications landscape, one historically marked by insularity and a limited and costly telephone communications framework. Vibrant competition is emerging where government-sanctioned monopolies reigned just a few years ago. Penetration has climbed precipitously, even surpassing 100 percent on more affluent islands. In just a decade, mobile telephony has exploded from serving less than one-half of one percent of the region�s population to now providing service to over 25 percent of the residents � over 10 million subscribers. Even so, another 30 million still await the opportunity to link up.
The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...