WiFi Track
Interview with Peter Thornycroft, Technologist, Aruba Networks
VN: Compared to Wired Ethernet, WLAN is growing exponentially. ‘Desktop Gigabit Ethernet’, which was touted as the next big thing in enterprise networking has not seen much traction, whereas 802.11 deployments are into 4th generation with 802.11n deployments. What is driving this growth?
Peter Thornycroft: The enterprise WLAN market is growing quickly, as businesses find opportunities to harness the advantages of mobility. Many enterprises start by offering Wi-Fi connections for guests, as this allows them to install in limited locations while they get comfortable with the technology. The next application is often to build out the WLAN so employees and contractors can connect without using Ethernet cables. At this stage it is important to start using the WLAN radios in their secondary role, as sensors to guard against IT security breaches from unauthorized ‘rogue’ access points. Following this, other services such as voice and video over WLAN are added.
VN: Will we continue to see such growth?
Peter Thornycroft: Industry analysts looking into the future are predicting growth rates of 30-50% per annum for enterprise WLANs.
VN: Is Telephony (Voice and Video) the next killer application for WLAN Technology?
Peter Thornycroft: In some market segments, voice is already an accepted and required service for new WLANs. New hospitals, warehouses and retail stores, for example, all use voice over the WLAN as one of their core services. Many universities are starting to use their campus-wide WLAN to carry high-bandwidth video for public safety purposes, to highlight another application. No specific application is necessarily a ‘killer app’, but the more services that can be run over Wi-Fi, the more attractive and important the WLAN becomes. Long-term goal is to enable the ‘All-Wireless Workplace’ in which there is no need to run Ethernet cables to offices or desktops: all services are delivered over the air.
VN: Do we see VoWLAN Deployments reaching critical mass very soon?
Peter Thornycroft: A recent estimate pegged the enterprise WLAN industry at $1.3bn in 2007. That is already a sizable market. But there are still many opportunities for growth, as I mentioned earlier.
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VN: What is the roadmap of Integrating WiMAX backhaul products for different verticals?
Peter Thornycroft: WiMAX would be another alternative for backhaul of access point traffic.
VN: What is your message to VON20?
Peter Thornycroft: I believe in the All-Wireless Workplace: it’s already a fact in certain niche areas, and I think it will be widely accepted in just a few years.
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