Telecom Lead America: The GSMA and WBA are promoting
ANDSF (a 3GPP standard) as essential part of standard specifications like NGH and
Hotspot 2.0, which will transform Wi-Fi’s role in cellular networks.
With roll-out of these new standard specifications,
carrier Wi-Fi equipment sales will grow almost ten times from about 650
thousand access points in 2012 to almost 6.8 million in 2017, according to ABI
Research.
The market research firm reckons that the growth will be
moderated by the availability of suitable backhaul, availability of electrical
power at the installation sites/ease of installation, operator acceptance of
Wi-Fi, and the effectiveness of network management systems in controlling very
large networks of Wi-Fi access points.
The Wireless Broadband Alliance and the GSM Association
have been pushing for standard specifications like Hotspot 2.0 and NGH
specifically tailored for carrier integrated Wi-Fi, which will allow carriers
to treat Wi-Fi as an integral part of their current network footprint.
Successful and speedy implementation of ANDSF in NGH is
critical to the growth of Carrier Wi-Fi,” said Nick Marshall, principal analyst,
mobile networks.
With these new standard specifications in the Wi-Fi
segment, Cisco and Ruckus will grab the market share, which is currently held
by the traditional mobile equipment infrastructure vendors like Ericsson, Nokia
Siemens Networks, and Alcatel-Lucent.
There are many challenges to be overcome for an operator
when considering deploying Wi-Fi as an off-load mechanism with operator
enthusiasm for and acceptance of Wi-Fi not yet a given,” Marshall added.
ABI Research said that these traditional mobile
infrastructure vendors will also positioning themselves for share gains in
market territory currently held by the Wi-Fi vendors.
Conversely, Ericsson will encroach on market territory
currently held by the traditional Wi-Fi equipment vendors such as Cisco, Aruba,
Ruckus, etc.
The study notes that market shares will fluctuate as
these competitive dynamics play out over the next few years.
