According to the latest Strategy Analytics report, "Cellular Beats Convergence in In-Building Voice Battleground," the U.S. market will lead adoption of fixed mobile convergence (FMC), as the rest of the world sees FMC play second fiddle to cellular-only substitution. Seven percent of voice telephony users will use a FMC product in the U.S. by 2010, compared with only two percent outside the U.S. "North America will buck the global trend, where cellular based solutions rather than converged fixed-mobile voice services will dominate. Advanced penetration of WiFi networks, a robust cellphone replacement market, spotty in-building cellular coverage and a dynamic broadband and cable industry will combine to keep cellular-only users at bay in the U.S.," comments David Kerr, Vice President, Strategy Analytics' Global Wireless Practice. "Players like Time Warner, Comcast and Cox have most to gain in terms of revenue opportunities, with early FMC moves by BellSouth a clear indication that they need to protect their entrenched positions in the fixed and mobile voice markets."
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...