In USA spending is expected to rise by 105 % to reach US $ 940 million by 2008 and in next 4 years US $ 3 Billion of total spending is expected on municipal Wi-Fi networks.
As per a study published in WirelessWeek, spending will reach US $ 235 Million in 2006 & US $ 460 Million next year in USA. Spending is expected to rise by 105 % to reach US $ 940 million by 2008. In next 4 years, US $ 3 Billion of total spending is expected on municipal Wi-Fi networks.
Public Wi-Fi networks that are built & operated by city or in collaboration with private firm have shown growth in recent past. Big cities like New Orleans, San Francisco & Philadelphia have continued development despite political & industry interferences. With these networks, they aim to provide low-cost broadband access for locals. Major cities, accounting for a third of total spending on municipal wireless, will increase their share to 40 % by 2009.
More growth is estimated to come from big nations & regional networks. Less urban regions will deploy wireless networks to focus on public safety & economic growth. As per the study, public safety, public works & building inspection are the 3 key applications for municipal wireless networks.
"The governments are showing interests in Wi-Fi technology to develop broadband networks, as the technology does not need costly radio licenses & is easily available with almost every notebook. Also, the cost of deploying radios is significantly less costly than installing fiber-optic wires," said an analyst at RNCOS.
As many cities are developing plans to build public Wi-Fi networks, some have selected vendors for developing their networks but only few networks are actually running today. Thus, growth of Municipal Wi-Fi is dependent on whether performance of currently under construction networks can meet the expectations & provide the benefits, which the govt. intended before deploying them.
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