Special Focus
Wireless Gets More Credible
The ratification of 802.11n and the rollout of 3G services will make wireless networking more attractive for enterprises. Still, issues remain, and they will not go away in a hurry
By Tabrez Khan
The WLAN story continues to grow stronger as important milestones are reached in the technologies enabling it. Slightly more than a quarter ago, the 802.11n or wireless-N standard was ratified by the ISO and IEEE, paving the way for its mass-scale adoption across devices.
This is expected to provide a further boost to the adoption of WLAN, which is already among the fastest-growing enterprise technologies. According to a study by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the size of the Wi-Fi market in India is estimated to grow from the $41.5 million of 2006 to $744 million in 2012, a CAGR of 61 percent. During this period, the demand for WLAN hardware is expected to grow from the $23 million of 2006 to $275 million. Driving this scenario is the proliferation of mobile and handheld devices and the need for enterprise mobility which are making companies increasingly choose a Wi-Fi network to complement their wired networks.
“We believe that the growth in the wireless market in India will be exponential as more wireless LANs are being set up by organizations to complement their wired infrastructure. This growth in the adoption of WLAN is being seen across all segments, even among SMBs,” says Prem Nithin, Senior Consultant, Cisco India and Saarc.
The primary driver for the growth and adoption of wireless technologies is the boom in laptop penetration and the growing proliferation of wireless and handheld devices. Another factor playing in WLAN’s favor, apart from mobility, is its low cost and ease of deployment compared to wired networks.
The average cost of deploying a WLAN has become significantly lower than wiring or re-wiring a building with Ethernet. For example, the cost of implementing a single Ethernet drop currently ranges from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000. On the other hand, a single access point can be deployed in a meshed manner in a matter of minutes, providing service to a large number of concurrent users.
802.11n ratification
Wireless-N has been around for one-and-half to two years now, but both OEM vendors and end-customers were slow in deploying it because it was not a ratified standard. However, its ratification is expected to boost confidence among both users and OEM vendors. With speeds of 300MBps and the ease of installation and use associated with WLAN, wireless-N is positioned to be a compelling networking solution for organizations.
“Since 802.11n is now an official standard from IEEE, it has given great relief to IT decision-makers. In the majority of greenfield deployments, customers are considering 802.11n. Existing customers who have already deployed 802.11 b or g networks may not shift entirely, but migration from b/g to complete n will certainly happen over a period of time. Besides new 802.11n wireless networking infrastructure, the customer must also have laptop clients supporting 802.11n,” comments Rahul Kulkarni, Senior Manager, Mobility Solutions, Siemens Enterprise Communications.
Sudarshan Boosupally, Country Head, Ruckus Wireless, is willing to take a bet on wireless-N adoption. According to Boosupally, “Laptops by most vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo already come with 11n chips embedded, hence 11g no longer makes sense, and 11n is the natural choice.”
However, Arun Gupta, Director, Darts IT Networks, is not convinced that wireless-N ratification will
provide the immediate boost that observers are hoping for. “Ratification, in my mind, is a secondary issue. The primary issue here is the cost of wireless-N, which remains prohibitive, therefore I am not sure that there will be a sudden jump in adoption post-ratification.”
Boosupally has a different take on the pricing. “Although n still remains pricey at double the cost of 11g, it also offers four times the performance of 11g. With speeds of up to 300MBps, there’s a lot of value in it for enterprises. No wonder they are adopting it though it is slightly expensive.”
The price gap between 11g and 11n is already reducing, according to Boosupally. “For example, in our own case, we have been able to reduce the price of 11n from $800 to $499. Our aim was to make it more affordable so that its adoption grows.”
Performance is the key to the adoption of 802.11n, and as enterprises realize that their UC and other media-rich applications will be served better through wireless-N, they are expected to warm up to it even at higher prices because it offers better ROI.
Partners already see n as the way forward for any new networking infrastructure. “We are witnessing increased adoption of the 802.11n standard, both in existing and greenfield projects. Businesses facing bandwidth issues in their existing network infrastructure are upgrading to n, while those setting up new network infrastructure are also choosing to go with n due to the higher performance and ROI it offers,” informs Sandip Vahi, Director, Compton Computers.
Will 3G replace wireless-N?
With the 3G spectrum auctions getting completed, India is slated to soon join the 3G bandwagon. While all the attention is focused on how individual users will react to the 3G offering, it offers a compelling wireless connectivity option to enterprises.
With the potential to function over a wider area, some see 3G replacing wireless-N as an enterprise connectivity solution.
Says Nikhil Shah, Head, Wireless Segment Solutions, Asia Pacific, Juniper Networks, “Once 3G spectrum is widely available for use in India, it could offer a viable alternative to small businesses and enterprises for mobile broadband connectivity. Of course, various factors would matter, such as the cost of the GPRS/3G data plan, the number of users, typical Internet usage now, and projected use.”
Kulkarni sees 3G as being complementary to 802.11n and not replacing it. “3G is more suitable
for a mobile worker who is continuously on the road. It can offer bandwidth of a maximum 2MBps per user, while enterprise users sitting inside often demand speeds like 100MBps or more. Hence, in reality, enterprises will embrace both technologies—802.11n for high-speed enterprise wireless, and 3G for road warriors.”
However, hindrances remain on the technical front due to potential disturbances in 3G networks which may not be conducive to the high availability requirement of businesses.
Shah agrees. “Sometimes, inside the building, cell coverage can be poor, and this can adversely affect the user’s 3G experience. However, solutions such as Femtocell can address this issue by allowing existing 3G phone or data cards to work perfectly even inside buildings with poor cell coverage.”
According to Vahi, wireless technologies like 3G will find increasing application in e-governance because of their ability to provide connectivity across remote geographies. Also, wherever media-rich applications are important, 3G will have an edge because of its ability to carry voice, video and data simultaneously.
Vertical opportunity
Wi-Fi solutions providers (SPs) have a vast field to play. Numerous applications are being developed on the wireless platform for various industry segments. In addition, SPs can offer simple solutions like guest Internet access and billing solutions, voice over WLAN solutions, video surveillance over WLAN, and real time location tracking in WLAN.
“SPs can also look into vertical-specific solutions such as wireless in the retail industry for bar-code scanning and inventory, and solutions for hospitals for running wireless voice and data services for doctors and hospital staff,” adds Kulkarni. “They can offer professional services in areas like Wi-Fi planning and wireless security assessment. Lots of customers are looking for managed services in these areas, hence an SP can offer managed wireless and managed wireless security services.”
Vahi points out that managed wireless is another opportunity for SPs. “Businesses are moving toward managed wireless wherein the SP manages the network, traffic and routers; blocks intrusions; and basically looks after the entire wireless network.”
Is WiMax dead?
The debate has raged on for some time now, especially against the backdrop of manufacturers such as Nokia, Intel and Nortel either slowing down or abandoning their WiMax equipment manufacturing.
On the flip side, service providers like Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications, Sify and You Telecom claim to have launched WiMax services in India recently. However, the Indian chapter of the WiMax Forum denies that any of these are WiMax services. According to the forum, WiMax operates within a certain RF, which these providers don’t adhere to, and therefore their services cannot be classified as WiMax.
“WiMax is definitely not dead,” asserts Kulkarni. “At present, fixed WiMax (802.16) is positioned for high-speed last-mile connectivity. This will be useful for rural connectivity. Mobile WiMax (802.16e) will be competing against 3G technology. Both these technologies have unique value propositions, and my take is that both of them will co-exist.” |