The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.
 

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Wireless penetration to double: new report
A new report by IDC Canada Ltd. predicts that wireless penetration in Canada will double within the next three years and will top the 70%-mark by 2006. That translates into more than 22 million users compared to the approximately 11 million that own cell phones today. While the market research firm’s projections are certainly aggressive, recent indications show that subscriber additions are actually slowing from subscriber growth than in previous years. Last year, RoW highlighted a potential slowdown in subscriber growth (RoW, Aug. 7/01). In comparison, a recent survey by InfoTech projects that U.S. wireless penetration will grow to 67% from its 2000 level of 40%. IDC also anticipates the market will increase in size from $6.1 billion to $9.3 billion over the same period. IDC analyst Lawrence Surtees said consumers are being lured to the wireless world by low prices, a variety of devices and newer applications. Canadians enjoy some of the lowest prices for wireless services in the world. Penetration will double, he predicts, adding that the Canadian wireless market isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It is widely accepted that the youth market will drive the market penetration upwards in the near-term and will also drive the adoption of wireless data services in the long-term. IDC projects that the wireless data market will account for only 4%, or $386 million, of the total wireless market by 2006.

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Pasteur Ntake has joined Unique Broadband Systems Inc. as VP engineering. Prior to joining UBS, Ntake was with SierraCom, which sold some of its assets to UBS (RoW Update, July 15/02). He has more than 25 years experience in radio communications, having held positions at Harris Corp. and Nortel Networks Corp.

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D-Link offers up faster Wi-Fi speeds with new products
Toronto-based D-Link has introduced a new line of 802.11b-compliant wireless equipment, which effectively doubles current throughput rates of traditional Wi-Fi gear and can provide speeds up to 22 Mbps. Wi-Fi is the commonly used term referring to 802.11b products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. The company’s 11.b+ line includes the DI-614+, a broadband router, four 10/100Base-T autosensing ports and an embedded dynamic host configuration protocol server. The DWL-900AP+ is a wireless access point with easy setup and web-based management. The company also offers laptop and desktop adapters. The DWL-650+ is for laptops and the DWL-520+ is for desktop computers.

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