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Lack of IT spend strangling business Wi-Fi
Domestic users are the future, says IDC

By Jo Best

Published: Wednesday 10 September 2003

The future of Wi-Fi is domestic rather than business users, according to new research from IDC

The survey revealed that while 27 per cent of respondents used a wireless LAN at work, the figure for domestic use was far higher, with 34 per cent of those questioned using wireless at home.

In terms of business use, companies are still failing to realise the potential of Wi-Fi – a fact that the analyst group puts down to the slow economic climate strangling CIOs investment potential.

Randy Guisto, vice president, personal technologies and services at IDC, said in a statement: "In lean economic times, providing a wireless LAN is a low priority for many IT organisations, while lower price points on wireless access points has spurred increased use of WLAN in the home."

The eventual take-up of wireless technology for businesses will be driven chiefly by the desire for increased productivity, said the report, but for home users, cost is a key factor, with people sharing their hot spots with family and friends.

Guisto said: "Even if an employer does not offer wireless on campus, the rise of affordable wireless-enabled computing devices, coupled with low-cost wireless home networking solutions and increasing hot spot availability, is driving the use of wireless beyond the office, and especially at home."

When it comes to what Wi-Fi fans use their hot spots for, business users are opting for email and internet access on the move, while home users are going for entertainment and messaging as their applications of choice.