Research: The realities of wireless working

Tags:
WiMax,
Wi-Fi,
3G,
HSDPA

Rhetorik ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 24 Aug 2007 16:52 BST

Executive summary:

GSM (2G) technology is still extensively in use, although in many cases this may be applied together with higher-speed networks within the enterprise. Migrating beyond 2G, GPRS (2.5G) is now widely deployed, in line with the large number of mobile devices now compatible with this technology. Two-thirds of the research base reported the use of GPRS.
EDGE enhancements to GPRS were in place for around a third of researched organisations and over half are currently up to true 3G speeds through the use of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). Perhaps surprisingly, 15 percent of our respondent base claims to have already deployed 3.5G technology, with HDPA capability.
In two years the use of 3G or 3.5G technology is expected to be the norm. More than half of all respondents able to give an opinion on this matter anticipate use of these high-speed mobile technologies by that time.
End-user interest in a broad range of mobile applications is strong. If bandwidth, cost and availability were no longer constraints, the breadth and coverage of many such applications throughout UK enterprises would increase significantly. The applications with greatest prominence, in the main, would still be those with significant use today, but the potential for growth in many of these together with a number of little-used applications would be significant.
In addition to voice, the most sought-after mobile applications are email, internet access, data communications, SMS (text messaging), electronic diary, GPS (global positioning systems), instant messaging, videoconferencing, database applications and personal directory.
However, the greatest potential for increased usage lies with mobile videoconferencing, GPS, database applications, instant messaging and shared workspace applications. More than 30 percent of enterprises researched have the potential to become new users of these mobile applications if the previously mentioned constraints were removed.
The key drivers of higher network speed were related to improved efficiencies in remote working, the increasing size of data files and applications that need to be accessed remotely, and increased end-user demand for remote access to a range of applications. Other drivers of importance were linked to the trend towards higher numbers of mobile workers, increases in homeworking and the desire of many enterprises to reduce business travel.
The most important barriers to increased network speed were clearly related to cost and security issues. Costs of airtime, costs of upgrading existing business applications and costs/sophistication of the devices required were key, together with the security threats brought about by increased remote use and access to further applications on higher-speed networks. Also of significance were concerns over the management and support of the types of devices connected.