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ABI: Fixed Wireless Terminal Shipments to Triple by 2012
January 12, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
Recent analysis from ABI Research found that fixed wireless terminal (FWT) shipments are expected to triple by 2012.
According to ABI Research senior analyst Sam Lucero, there are five main use cases of the FWT:
- First and largest is as a wireless local loop device providing voice service where wired infrastructure is unavailable.
Consumers in rural China and other regions of the Asia-Pacific region and South America, where there is cellular infrastructure but no landlines, are using FWTs to connect conventional phones.
"This SOHO [small office/home office]/consumer sector will continue to experience the strongest growth," said Lucero. "Tens of millions are shipping in China alone."
- A longer term, though smaller market is industrial, where FWTs can backhaul signals or data from a cluster of locally placed devices, such as industrial machinery. Lucero said this market is expected to show unspectacular, but steady growth.
- Three new third generation (3G)-based categories have also been created. Markets for these 3G-based uses are still small, said Lucero. As a result, they will show strong growth rates, but not high volumes - at least in the short term.
Temporary installations are intended to allow a number of people with local area network (LAN)-equipped computers to share one 3G data card on an ad hoc basis.
A group of emergency responders, for example, could set up a command and communications hub at the scene of a crime or disaster. Analysts said such configurations could also assist meetings in any location where there's no Internet access available.
- A mobile FWT is really a Wi-Fi access point with a cellular backhaul connection, mounted in a bus, train, boat or car, and providing, in effect, a mobile hotspot for passengers. Analysts said buses serving Microsoft's Redmond campus, for example, are equipped with mobile FWTs.
- In remote office/branch office (ROBO) applications, FWTs can provide a stopgap equivalent of landline communications where none are yet available. Lucero said they can also provide network router backup.
Cisco, for example, offers 3G cards for a router; the router may function 99% on a wired network, but if that landline fails, the router can fall back on the cellular connection.
Source: ABI Research.
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