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Hotspots Are Hotter Than Ever
April 09, 2008
Edited by Jeremy Cohen
Wi-Fi's worldwide explosion continues unabated, if a new survey from iPass is to be believed. The Mobile Broadband Index summarizes internal data collected by the company—a global provider of services that unify the management of enterprise mobility—and is intended to represent usage behavior across its base of more than 3,000 enterprise customers.
According to the survey, the second half of 2007 saw another strong performance for Wi-Fi, as hotspot usage by business users increased 89% over H2 2006. Based on data gathered from over two million sessions during the period, European growth rapidly outpaced the U.S. Specifically, Europe expanded its worldwide share of hotspot use to 40% (up from 31%), as America's representation dropped from 59% to 51%. Also, London increased its lead as the world capital of Wi-Fi, with usage rising by 156% over the same time period last year.
Latin America was the latest region to demonstrate exceptional growth in Wi-Fi, with usage skyrocketing 133% over H2 2006 and Brazil debuting on the top 10 country list after tripling its Wi-Fi usage. At the city level, Tokyo placed third with impressive 118% growth, behind London and Singapore and followed by New York.
Business travel venues continued to dominate the field, now accounting for more than three out of every four sessions globally. Airports led usage with 45% of sessions overall. But hotels are rapidly gaining popularity with 146% growth, and now account for 29% of overall global usage—up from 23% last year. Emerging venue types such as train stations and ferries also contributed to the growth.
Usage at train stations mushroomed 238% year over year and new deployments on the trains themselves will likely continue this trend. This explosive growth was driven by London and Tokyo in particular, where rail travel is essential for commuters.
Finally, for those who are locally mobile, restaurants with Wi-Fi showed great promise, with growth that outstripped traditional retail Wi-Fi venues such as cafes and bookstores. Usage in restaurants was up 217% year over year, versus only 35% growth for cafes and 26% in bookstores over the same period. Over the same period, restaurants’ share expanded from 9% to 16%—mostly at the expense of cafes, which dropped from 54% to 44%.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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