Public Wireless LANs: 
Challenges, Opportunities, & Strategies


Published Q3, 2001. 66 pages, single-spaced text with 8 tables & figures

 

Table of Contents

 INTRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
     OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS
     BUSINESS MODELS 
     STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
     KEY CONCLUSIONS 
OVERVIEW
REACHING CRITICAL MASS
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES 
MARKET SEGMENTATION 
     DEGREE OF MOBILITY 
     USER TYPES 
     TYPES OF INSTALLATIONS 
TECHNOLOGY APPROACHES
     WIRELESS LAN ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES 
          IEEE 802.11b 
          IEEE 802.11g 
          IEEE 802.11a 
          HiperLAN 
          HomeRF 
          Bluetooth 
          Infrared 
     BACKHAUL CONNECTION 
     INTERNET GATEWAY 
     NETWORK OPERATIONS 
     ROAMING SUPPORT 
OBSTACLES 
     MAJOR OBSTACLES 
          Deployment 
          Security 
          Roaming 
          RF Interference Management 
     MINOR OBSTACLES 
          Remote Access and VPN Considerations
          Platform Compatibility 
          Voice Support 
          Roaming Among Heterogeneous Networks 
          Access Complexity 
DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS
     PRIMARY DEPLOYMENT AREAS 
          Airports 
          Hotels 
          Restaurants 
          Educational Environments 
     SECONDARY DEPLOYMENT AREAS 
          Conference Centers 
          Airplanes 
          Shopping Areas 
          Government Buildings 
          Sports Facilities 
          Hospitals 
          Residential and SOHO Fixed Access 
          Entertainment Locations 
          Public Transportation 
     DEPLOYMENT COSTS 
PRICING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
SERVICE PROVIDER OPPORTUNITIES
     DEDICATED PWLAN OPERATORS 
     CELLULAR OPERATORS 
     INTERNET ROAMING PROVIDERS 
     INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS 
     COMPUTER VENDORS 
     CABLE PROVIDERS (MULTIPLE SERVICE OPERATORS) 
     ILECS AND CLECS 
     NOT-FOR-PROFIT NETWORKS 
     MAJOR REGIONS OF THE WORLD 
          North America 
          Europe 
          Japan 
PWLAN OPERATORS
     AERZONE 
     AIRWAVE 
     CERULIC
     GET2NET CORP. 
     HEREUARE 
     MOBILESTAR 
     NEPTUNE NETWORKS 
     NOMAD NETWORKS 
     SONERA 
     SURF AND SIP 
     TELENOR MOBILE 
     TELIA 
     SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SYSTEM (SAS) 
     SKYLINK INTERNET PLUS 
     TENZING COMMUNICATIONS 
     WAYPORT 
     WIRELESSBOLAGET 
     WNS OY 
     NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 
KEY INFRASTRUCTURE VENDORS
     3COM 
     AGERE SYSTEMS / ORINOCO 
     CISCO SYSTEMS 
     CLASSWAVE 
     COMMIL 
     GRIC COMMUNICATIONS 
     IBM 
     IPASS 
     NOKIA 
     PICO COMMUNICATIONS 
     PROXIM 
     RADIOFRAME NETWORKS 
     RED-M
     SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES 
     TADLYS 
     WIDCOMM 
 
 

TABLE OF FIGURES

TABLE 1: PROS AND CONS OF PWLAN OPERATORS REMAINING INDEPENDENT 

TABLE 2: PROS AND CONS OF PWLAN OPERATORS TEAMING UP WITH 
                  CELLULAR/PCS OPERATORS 

TABLE 3: FEATURES OF PWLAN VERSUS CELLULAR DATA 

TABLE 4: KEY DRIVERS AND INHIBITORS FOR PWLANS. 

FIGURE 1: ELEMENTS OF A PWLAN 

TABLE 5: SUMMARY OF COVERAGE AREAS AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES 

TABLE 6: COST TO DELIVER 1 MEGABYTE OF DATA OVER PUBLIC WIRELESS LANS 
                  (FOR 802.11B, BLUETOOTH, AND 802.11A AIR INTERFACES) (AT 1%, 2%, 
                  4%, AND 8% UTILIZATION)

FIGURE 2: SUCCESS FACTORS FOR PWLAN OPERATORS

 

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