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The data, which was compiled by analysts, showed that by 2018, the number of public Wi-Fi hotspots deployed around the world will grow from 47.7 million right now, to more than 340 million.<\/strong> By this logic, this will mean that in four years\u2019 time there will be one hotspot for every 20 people<\/strong> on the planet, compared with one for every 150 today<\/strong>.<\/p>\nIPass<\/span><\/a> specialises in Wi-Fi hotspot aggregation. Its network of networks securely connects business travellers through a single login to some 2.7 million public Wi-Fi hotspots in airports, hotels and other public areas in more than 120 countries. It also found that while Europe currently has the most Wi-Fi estate installed, with 50% of the world\u2019s hotspots, it will be overtaken by Asia soon.<\/p>\n European Wi-Fi usage among enterprise users is spiralling, according to iPass, and the UK and France is leading the way. The firm\u2019s new Wi-Fi\u00a0Hotspot Index<\/span><\/a> shows a 74% increase in the number of European Wi-Fi access sessions initiated by its global enterprise users last year. Globally, Wi-Fi usage has increased 44%, said iPass, showing that Wi-Fi technology continues to appeal to business travellers as a reliable and useful connectivity method.<\/p>\n Much of the growth will centre on community Wi-Fi and projects such as BT Fon, which siphon up a portion of a subscriber\u2019s bandwidth for public use. There are 40 million such “homespots” today. By 2018, claimed iPass, there will be 325 million of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n For many years, all the talk around mobility has been on 3G\/4G and a handful of mobile operators. The report shows that in the coming years it\u2019s Wi-Fi that will steal the limelight as consumers’ thirst for data goes beyond anything that cellular can deliver, and as business owners see the value Wi-Fi brings to helping them differentiate and innovate.<\/p>\n June Bower, iPass chief marketing officer, said the traditional power structures of the communications sector would be disrupted as Wi-Fi networks became more pervasive, with owners of customer businesses, such as hotels, shops, bars and cafes, seizing power from telco carrier providers. She suggested that in a similar way to how Google enabled small businesses to better monetise their online assets through tools such as AdSense, so businesses would, in future, take control of their Wi-Fi networks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes down to how people are going to make money from their investment in Wi-Fi<\/em>,\u201d said Bower, \u201cand that\u2019s a very different model to traditional carrier networks. People are doing some very interesting things with Wi-Fi, such as using it to create brand loyalty<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n IPass said there could be a place for big over-the-top (OTT) platform providers, such as Facebook and Google, to begin to help Wi-Fi owners get paid in a meaningful way, whether that be through money, advertising or user data.<\/p>\n Source: www.computerweekly.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A global survey of Wi-Fi hotspots carried out on behalf of network aggregator iPass has revealed how wireless will become a pervasive part of the lives of billions in the next four years. The data, which was compiled by analysts, … Continue reading