Future of Wi-Fi: Impact of 802.11n and Emerging
Standards
Archit Subramanian
Achyuthanandan Sampath
Research Analysts
Technical Insights
Information & Communication Technologies
September 16, 2009

Agenda
1 Overview of Wi-Fi and the 802.11n standard
2 Business Prospects and Application Roadmaps
3 Emerging Wi-Fi Standards- Impact Analysis
4 Future Trends
2

802.11n – Snapshot
Enhanced data Dual-band
rate Operation
Backward Friendly-
Compatibility neighbor policy
Multiple-input-
Channel Multiple-Output
Bonding (MIMO) Antenna
Technology
Certification of products based on 802.11n Draft 2.0 was started in 2007
802.11n standard was finally ratified on September 11, 2009
11n promises data rates of up to 600 Mbps
3

Impact of Economic Downturn on Wi-Fi Adoption
802.11 a, b, g standards
802.11 n standard
Large-scale adoption of Plummet in Enterprise Increase in Mobile
laptops, notebooks and demand for WLAN due to Broadband usage
personal computers (PCs) global recession
Disruption Point
Performance
gy
olo
techn
nt
gy
rre
lo
no
Cu
ch
nd
ma
te
de
e
t
tiv
rke
Ma
up
sr
Di
< 2008 2008-2009 > 2009 Time (years)
4

802.11n – Key Challenges
Power
Consumption
Security Compatibility
Certification
Issues
Upgradation
Costs
5

802.11n Adoption Trends- Verticals
Campus wide WLAN
Education
Interactive Apps
Patient monitoring
Healthcare
Telemedicine
Office WLAN
Enterprise IT
Business Continuity
Retail Asset tracking
Wireless POS
6

Agenda
1 Overview of Wi-Fi and the 802.11n standard
2 Business Prospects and Application Roadmaps
3 Emerging Wi-Fi Standards- Impact Analysis
4 Future Trends
7

Applications of Wi-Fi
Embedded
Systems
Location Multimedia
Tracking .....
Networking
VoIP Over Wi-Fi Mobility
Applications of Wi-Fi
8

AHP- Prioritization of Hot Wi-Fi Application Sectors
Prioritization of Hot Wi-Fi Application Sectors (3-5 years)
Market Growth Stakeholder Technological
Potential Contention Aspects
Estimated Future Market Number of Stakeholder Criticality of Competing
Demand Investments Stakeholders Initiatives Challenges Technologies
Wireless Video Embedded
Mobility
Delivery Systems
9

Insights- Prioritization of Hot Wi-Fi Application Sectors
Level 0
Market Growth Potential
Stakeholder Contention
Technology Aspects
22 Level 1
%
Estimated Future
20%
Demand
Market Investments
Alternatives
30% 43% No of Stakeholders
Level o
Level 1
10%
54% 55% Stakeholder Initiatives
16%
Criticality of Challenges
12%
23%
4% Competing Technologies
11%
Alternatives
Mobility
Video Delivery
Embedded Networking
10

Wi-Fi- Deployment Roadmap
Access Points Consumer Embedded
Mobile Devices
and Laptops Electronics Systems
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
11

Agenda
1 Overview of Wi-Fi and the 802.11n standard
2 Business Prospects and Application Roadmaps
3 Emerging Wi-Fi Standards- Impact Analysis
4 Future Trends
12

Impact of Standards on Applications
Applications of 802.11
802.11
Year Objective Mobile Embedded Multimedia Location
Standard
Connectivity Systems Networking Tracking
Throughput-
2009 802.11n
Efficiency
2009 Security 802.11w
2010 Power Efficiency 802.11v
2011 Mesh Networking 802.11s
Audio/Video
2011 802.11aa
Delivery
2012 802.11ac
Very High
and
Throughput 802.11ad
beyond
Moderately Moderately
Strong Moderate Weak
Strong Weak
13

Agenda
1 Overview of Wi-Fi and the 802.11n standard
2 Business Prospects and Application Roadmaps
3 Emerging Wi-Fi Standards- Impact Analysis
4 Future Trends
14

Future Trends
Wi-Fi is anticipated to become one of the foundations of the connected home.
The multimedia home networking scene expected to be dominated by 11n in the
near-term, before being taken over by 60 GHz technologies
The upsurge in use of smartphones is expected to revive the buzz around
Municipal Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi has the potential to replace competing RFID technologies for RTLS
In-flight Wi-Fi is expected to be a key-value add in the airline industry.
Bluetooth 3.0 – Integration of Bluetooth and 802.11 technologies.
Mobile devices with Wi-Fi peering capability are expected to hit the market in
2010.
15

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For Additional Information
Jake Wengroff Leo O’ Connor
Global Director Vice President of Research -Technical Insights
Corporate Communications Technical Insights
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