Wi-Fi to Overtake Wired Network Traffic
Wi-Fi to Overtake Wired Network Traffic by 2015
Wired network traffic is still growing at a steady 26%, doubling every 3 years. But wireless traffic is forecast to continue growing at 36%, doubling in just over 2 years - over and over and over.
We forecast traffic as a way to ensure that guest expectations are met without unexpected upgrade requirements - and we know that guests given a choice between wired and wireless connections will choose wireless 3 to 4 times as often as a wired connection. That makes investments to retro-fit hotels with Ethernet an impossible ROI propisition because the cost is so high and the use so low.
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But with wireless traffic outpacing Internet use in general, we'll need to rework that year-over-year expectation. We've already seen properties where fewer than half the devices on the network were Windows and MAC laptops - and the growth in tablets, WiFi phones, gaming consoles on the road and other devices will soon make laptops a permanent minority. Nearly all of those non-laptop devices have WiFi and NO wired ports.
We long ago gave up handling coverage as the primary issue for wireless - capacity is the real key. Even with .11n, if you put in fewer than 1 Access Point for every 12 active users you are going to get complaints (24 per dual-radio AP of course). How many rooms do you have? That number divided by 8 is the number of wireless Access Points you need - any fewer and you are just waiting for the complaints to start.
Are you ready to double the capacity of your in-house network and your Internet connection every 2 years?
