Skip to main content

Exploring the Benefits from Next Generation Hotspots

Seamless Wi-Fi access in public locations has heightened fixed and mobile network operators' interest in Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) Wi-Fi service offerings. The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) announced the findings of a market study conducted with research firm Senza Fili.

Interest in this technology has been fueled by the world’s largest operators and vendors recently completing a number of advanced trials of NGH which led to the introduction of critical features such as seamless authentication; automatic network detection selection, adoption and secure access.

This will ultimately give mobile device users easier access to a far greater number of public Wi-Fi access points around the world -- without the need for usernames and passwords.

With an increasing number of sophisticated and data hungry mobile devices now available on the market, mobile network operators have been forced to address the capacity conundrum and Wi-Fi has proven to be a viable solution.

However, there is a need to move beyond legacy hotspot Wi-Fi and upgrade to NGH that today boasts secure authentication and automatic service discovery and selection -- it will soon include online signup and policy support.

The study examined the cost and revenue benefits that NGH will bring to fixed and mobile network operators. Exploring the cost savings from NGH Wi-Fi adoption as a complement to 3G and 4G wireless networks, it compared scenarios with varying percentages of traffic transported by NGH Wi-Fi, macro cells, small cells or legacy Wi-Fi.


Key findings from the latest market study include:
  • A higher proportion of data traffic carried by NGH Wi-Fi leads to lower per-bit costs. Mobile operators can reduce their per-bit RAN costs by 18 percent when they carry 20 percent of their traffic through NGH Wi-Fi.
  • The combination of Wi-Fi and cellular small cells brings additional cost savings and higher profitability. The per-bit cost in a network with NGH Wi-Fi and 4G small cells may be 38 percent of those of a 3G macro network.
  • The ability of NGH Wi-Fi to drive more traffic than legacy Wi-Fi from the same infrastructure results in lower per-bit costs for NGH Wi-Fi over legacy Wi-Fi. If the traffic in a legacy network is 25 percent of that in an NGH Wi-Fi network, the overall per-bit costs will grow by 18 percent.
  • Based on the potential cost savings and operator commitments, it is forecasted that NGH Wi-Fi to account for 9 percent of global mobile traffic and reach $150 billion in operator revenue by 2018.
"The technology behind NGH has been proven both in the lab and in the field. This study presents the critical piece of the puzzle for mobile network operators, demonstrating the strong business case for deploying the technology," said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO, Wireless Broadband Alliance.

This new generation of Wi-Fi infrastructure will not only deliver a completely seamless and ubiquitous Wi-Fi experience to the end user, but will also become a key component of an operator's RAN and network optimization strategy, particularly when integrating Wi-Fi with LTE and small cells.

Popular posts from this blog

Industrial Cloud Computing Apps Gain Momentum

In the manufacturing industry, cloud computing can help leaders improve their production efficiency by providing them with real-time data about their operations. This has gained the attention of the C-suite. Total forecast Industrial Cloud platform revenue in manufacturing will surpass $300 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 22.57 percent, driven by solution providers enhancing platform interoperability while expanding partner ecosystems for application development. ABI Research found the cloud computing manufacturing market will grow over the next decade due to the adoption of new architectural frameworks that enhance data extraction and interoperability for manufacturers looking to maximize utility from their data. Industrial Cloud Computing Market Development "Historically, manufacturers have built out their infrastructure to include expensive data housing in the form of on-premises servers. The large initial upfront cost of purchasing, setting up, and maintaining these servers is

Credit Scoring Service Spending will Reach $44B

Credit scoring is a method that lenders use to predict the probability a borrower or counter-party will default on loans, or incur additional charges for repayment -- also known as measuring credit worthiness. The method is a key tool in making credit affordable for individuals and businesses. It links credit products to risk potential, connecting borrowers to secondary capital markets and increasing the amount of funds available. This securing process establishes risk predictability dependent on a number of factors, determined by financial indicators and other publicly available information reported by the credit bureaus. Credit Score Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, they now forecast credit scoring services will grow by 67 percent to $44 billion by 2028. Juniper anticipates that emerging markets will experience the greatest growth -- projecting the African & Middle Eastern region to grow by 117 percent over the forecast period

Demand for Quantum Computing as a Service

The enterprise demand for quantum computing is still in its early stages, growing slowly. As the technology becomes more usable, we may see demand evolve beyond scientific applications. The global quantum computing market is forecast to grow from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $7.6 billion in 2027, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). That's a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1 percent. The forecast includes base Quantum Computing as a Service, as well as enabling and adjacent Quantum Computing as a Service. However, this updated forecast is considerably lower than IDC's previous quantum computing forecast, which was published in 2021, due to lower demand globally. Quantum Computing Market Development In the interim, customer spend for quantum computing has been negatively impacted by several factors, including: slower than expected advances in quantum hardware development, which have delayed potential return on inve