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120 Billion Wi-Fi Hotspot Connects Forecast in 2015

The global Wi-Fi hotspot market continues to surge forward with phenomenal growth in both footprint and usage.

Over the past several years, growth in the hotspot market has largely been driven by wireless and broadband providers embracing Wi-Fi as both a competitive differentiator, and an enhancement to core services.

According to the latest market study by In-Stat, their research forecasts that this trend will continue -- as usage will increase to nearly 120 billion connects in 2015.

“The hotspot market is in a continuous state of flux. Now over a decade old, the market is still undergoing significant changes in usage and business models,” says Amy Cravens, Senior Analyst at In-Stat.

Wi-Fi hotspots have become a service used to attract demand for other product offerings, rather than just being a standalone offering.

Whether the primary product is broadband, mobile service, or a Starbuck's cup of coffee, Wi-Fi hotspot access is being used globally to attract new customers or retain existing ones.

In-Stat's latest market research findings include:
  • Wi-Fi Hotspots will continue to be a key factor in mobile operators' data offload strategy.
  • Worldwide hotpot venues will increase to over 1 million in 2013.
  • While transportation and convention centers only account for a small percent of venues, they account for nearly 30 percent of total connects.
  • Asia Pacific has emerged as the preeminent hotspot market, largely due to recent renewed investment in venue deployment.
  • Notebook PCs continue to account for the majority of connects in the hotspot market; however, the rate of smartphone and tablet access is increasing rapidly.

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