Mobile communications, including mobile entertainment, remains one of the hottest sectors in the InfoTech market. There were more than 3 billion global cellular telephone subscribers by mid 2008, including more than 260 million in the U.S. alone. Portio Research projects 4.9 billion subscribers worldwide by the end of 2012, which would mean that approximately 56% of the Earth’s population would have a cellphone. Worldwide, cell phone use continues extremely rapid growth, particularly in China and India. In some nations, particularly in Scandinavia, market penetration exceeds 100% of the population as some people have more than one cell phone subscription. Accessing and transferring data and entertainment via cell phone is growing at a rapid clip. With all this rapid growth and development going on, keeping up with the trends affecting the industry can be challenging. According to a recent report by Plunkett Research, Ltd., some of the most exciting of these trends include:

1) Municipal Wi-Fi Broadband Systems Falter. Because of their relatively low cost and ease of installation, many cities and communities throughout the U.S. have installed (or are making plans to install) municipal Wi-Fi systems with the intent of making Internet access available to all citizens at all times. However, many service providers discontinued service when it became apparent that the initiative was not going to be profitable.

2) WiMAX Extends Wireless Range Far Beyond Wi-Fi. A newer standard known as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMAX (802.16), is adding considerable fuel to the wireless fire. WiMAX has the capability to deliver extremely fast Internet connections to wireless devices, such as notebooks and mobile VoIP telephones, with each WiMAX antenna having about a 30-mile maximum broadcast range.

3) Femtocells Utilize the Internet to Make a Leap in Wireless Service Levels. Femtocells will be utilized across the U.S. in Clearwire’s upcoming WiMAX system. Femtocells are an advanced technology enabling wireless service providers to provide much higher-quality voice and data transmission by using the Internet to pass calls to and from wireless devices. Femtocell devices are inexpensive, and they can be installed in users’ homes and offices to enhance local wireless networks.

To find out more about these exciting trends and others, check out Plunkett’s Wireless, Wi-Fi & RFID Industry Almanac 2009, or go to www.plunkettresearch.com and sign up for a subscription to Plunkett’s completely up-to-date online database!

About Plunkett Research, Ltd.
Plunkett Research, Ltd. is a leading publisher of complete business research and analysis resources designed to enable professionals in marketing, research and finance to access complete trends analysis, statistics, technology analysis and financial analysis of the world’s most exciting industries. For more information, visit www.plunkettresearch.com, or call 713.932.0000.