Tapping the potential of wireless networking
With increasing demand for Wireless networking, Wi-fi has become the gateway to business success for solution providers
By Akanksha Prasad & Priyanka Chowdhury
 Now, connecting to the internet just doesn't mean sticking to one place or running back to your home to check your mails. With broadband connectivity spreading its wings in India, the divide between wired and wireless connectivity is slowly shrinking. Wireless connectivity is fast becoming the next big thing in India. Hence, solution providers are just jumping in to cash on the opportunities available here.
According to a report, the overall Indian Wi-Fi market is predicted to grow from the current $41.57 million to more than $744 million by 2012 (CAGR of 61.4 percent). "The Wi-Fi market is expected to grow at around 30 percent in the next few years. In the last two years, this technology displayed a remarkable growth rate of 20 to 22 percent," says Ranjan Chopra, CEO, Team Computers.
The necessary market drivers are all in place to propel growth, development and deployment of Wi-Fi into the mainstream technology across the country.
Underlying Forces
Wi-Fi works on an unlicensed spectrum, is easy to deploy and overcomes the challenges of wire management and wire replacing. These factors have resulted in increase in its demand. "In totality Wi-Fi environment is better than the wired network. The fall in the prices of laptops has enabled enterprises to think about mobility and replace desktops with laptops," says Chopra.
"The PC segment continues to grow at around 22 to 24 percent per year but the laptop is likely to continue to grow at 100 percent over the next two to three years. With an estimated 80 percent laptops being Wi-Fi enabled, there will be a large number of mobile Wi-Fi commuters in the cities," notes Raunaq Singh, Vice President, Delhi-based system integrator, Targus Technologies.
"We see a great demand for deployment of a reliable Wi-Fi solution in nearly all verticals from education, hospitality, health care, retail, banking and finance; from large enterprises to small to medium-sized businesses. We also have solutions for consumers which we provide through the telcos/carriers," says Sudarshan Boosupalli, Country Head, Ruckus Wireless. "Many of the institutions have adopted the concept of any where class room; learning by doing and video-based tutoring has enhanced the demand. Other places where it is being implemented are hotspots and coffee shops," adds Jayesh Kotak, Vice President, D-Link.
Cases Studies
Sangli-based Veetrag has been providing Wi-Fi networking solution for the past 4 years. "One of our largest projects was with the Sanjay Grover Group. The Rs 12.5 lakh project involved setting up of a Wi-Fi network through RF modems in 8 offices of the company," says Pravin Naik, CEO, Veetrag Computers.
Targus Computers provided Aruba Wi-Fi solution for the studios of CNN-IBN in Noida. The Rs 18 lakh project involved providing Wi-Fi connectivity in all studios of IBN7.
Cisco and HCL Comnet provided a Wi-Fi solution to Assam University The deployment included a campus LAN, a two-tier architecture having C4507R at the core with redundant supervisor, redundant power supply and some fiber modules.
Cisco deployed its ASA 5500 Series adaptive security appliances for perimeter security.
Although deployment is still in primary stages, the initial success has paved the way for a second phase that will include e-governance (wherein all the colleges under Assam University will be connected to the main campus) as well as advanced technologies.
Futuristic Trends
With advances in technology, Wi-Fi is also set to step into its next generation technology. The key emerging technology is smart multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), which provides high throughput and non-interfering wireless access for multimedia applications like IPTV. Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) and convergence services are also catching up. "The latest in the Wi-Fi solution is to create a MESH Network which helps in reducing the failures and also provides the redundant paths with extensive coverage," says Akshar Lakshmi Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks, Hyderabad-based solution provider offering networking solutions.
Introduction of the 802.11 n in the wireless space with a speed of 300 mbps will also help to bridge the gap between wired and wireless connection. The 'G' is already a well ratified and mature standard. The 802.11n ,popularly called the 'Draft N', is the new standard and is likely to be ratified as a standard in Sept 2008. Paramjit Singh Puri, Business Development Manager, Advanced Technology, Cisco, says, "People are realizing the benefits of pervasive wireless network that allows quad play services and offers more mobile applications for consumer benefit. This will allow the introduction of new products in the Wi-Fi space." Cisco is a leading worldwide vendor for networking products and solutions.
"The apparent trend will probably be a shift towards Draft N standards which delivers excellent price performance. It offers 6 times the speed at less than 3 times the price besides longer coverage distances. Besides adoption of Draft N, the unified wired and wireless networks are trends that are here to stay especially in the enterprise market," says Kotak.
Beware of challenges
Although, Wi-Fi has gained popularity and is seen as the answer for internet mobility, it does have some disadvantages that can prove to be challenges for solution providers. The issues that arise are security, reach, interference, interoperability, reliability and manageability.
"In a WLAN network, access is not only limited to the wired PCs but also to all the wireless network devices, making it possible for a hacker to easily breach the security of that network. WLAN should have optimum coverage and performance for mobile users to seamlessly roam in the wireless network. Another disadvantage is that interference can take place due to improperly placed or faulty wireless devices. Due to security reasons, government is still skeptical to adopt wireless technology," says Kotak.
Another challenge that the solution providers face while implementing Wi-Fi is line of sight. A Wi-Fi solution requires clear communication with the access point through an uninterrupted line of sight, which is not always possible in an already existing infrastructure. Naik says, "In a Wi-Fi solution, it is often required that the distribution antennae be in line of sight of the given access point. However, this is difficult to implement in troublesome terrains and in already constructed infrastructure. Thus, Wi-Max may soon takeover Wi-Fi because of the ease of installation available. Wi-Max is a new wireless networking standard that will provide non-line of sight, coverage up to 30 miles. Distribution antennas do not have to be in the line of sight with their clients."
The Wi-Fi solution also has the disadvantage of the available bandwidth being shared between the users.
Way Ahead
The opportunities for solution providers are endless in the Wi-Fi segment. Solution providers can not only deploy the wireless solution for the customer but will also take care of the pre and post sales support after the deployment. This means that the solution providers can provide an entire bouquet of solutions to their customers. For instance, Team Computers has their own solution team to cater the Wi-Fi solution requirements, where they also design particular solutions for the customers.
A lot of applications like RFID, video surveillance and voice over Wi-Fi depend entirely on the wireless infrastructure. Solution providers can also gain from this by just adding the implementation of these services to their portfolio. Thus, Wi-Fi offers immense opportunities for solution providers. |