Wifi Revolution

ABI Research’s (News - Alert) recent report, “WiFi Real-Time Location Systems,” indicates that WiFi (News - Alert) RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems) requires far denser deployments of supplementary access points to accurately triangulate and then locate assets and people.

Because of this reason, most equipment vendors are not able to publicize the inadequate amount of access points presently employed. However, in future, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of access points deployed, thereby enhancing WiFi RTLS and emphasizing its advantages over proprietary RTLS.

ABI Research vice president and research director, Stan Schatt said in a statement that revenue generated by access point sales will rise from $14 million in 2006 to more than $191 million in 2012. He indicated that the savings created from using WiFi RTLS for fixed mobile convergence should cost-justify these purchases. The research firm believes that by this time, Europe will overtake North America, producing higher WiFi RTLS revenues.

Revenues earned by software service professionals are expected to experience substantial growth as well. From just over $2 million in 2006 they will grow to more than $60 million in 2012. In addition, demand for professional services will expand as software becomes more customized and specific needs must be met.

Schatt pointed out that ABI Research forecasts illustrate that the rapidly growing installed base of access points is essential when it comes to the expansion of WiFi RTLS. He emphasized that the biggest advantage of WiFi RTLS over proprietary RTLS is that the presence of access points eliminates the need for a separate cabling system and expensive RFID readers.

ABI’s report, WiFi Real-Time Location Systems examines key competitive advantages and disadvantages of WiFi RTLS products. This report describes in great detail the growth of individual product components such as tags, appliances, software, and professional services, and forecasts the revenue growth for each key product category.

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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

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