Survivor's Guide to 2007: Mobile and Wireless
Posted by
Dave Molta
December 15, 2006
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In 2007, enterprises will continue to make massive investments in wireless. An increasing proportion of that spending, however, will be codified in the IT budget rather than slipped through the cracks at departmental level. And companies will get more and better technology for their money.
Take Wi-Fi. Ten years ago, a notebook NIC would set you back $600 or more. In 2007, the latest iteration of Wi-Fi--802.11n--will deliver about 100 times the performance of the original 802.11. More notable, if you adjust for inflation, you can get an entire new notebook with embedded 802.11n for about what you paid 10 years ago for just the card. Similar trends hold true for cellular data and 3G: NICs will be given away--provided you're willing to sign a two-year service contract. OK, that's a significant catch, but the potential value of mobile broadband service, available anytime and nearly anywhere, is irresistible for companies with a high proportion of mobile employees.
