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28 January 2004 - In a recent survey, In-Stat/MDR
found that, not only is the market for wireless
LAN and WAN access growing, but so are the markets
for the products and services that support them.
A survey of the high-tech market research firm's
panel illustrates strong demand for wireless PC
cards, with 30 percent of respondents that have,
or plan to purchase, a notebook computer stating
that they use a PC card today, and another 37%
indicating they plan to use one in the future.
To make the most out of this market, PC card
providers must understand users' willingness to
pay, and the channels that they wish to purchase
these cards through. They must also understand
the types of devices that people want to use them
with, and the applications that they wish to access.
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According to this research, they should price products
in the $50 to $100 price range, distribute through carrier
and consumer channels, and support multiple device types.
The survey also found that:
- Respondents' willingness to pay is greater for WWAN
PC cards than for WLAN PC cards.
- Currently, WLANs are used far more than WWANs, but
cellular providers are placing an increasing emphasis
on growing the WWAN business. As a result, many respondents
are considering purchasing a WWAN PC card within the
next year. Fifty-six percent of people planning to
purchase a PC card expect to get a WLAN PC card and
16% expect to get a WWAN PC card (36% are undecided).
- Users plan to access many applications, but primarily
will access e-mail and the Internet, or intranet for
company applications.
- In the future, one can expect to see combo cards
that offer functionality for multiple networks, but
for today, PC card manufacturers can expect to see
continued high demand for these products. The biggest
competitor to this market, in the future, will come
from the fact that wireless modems will increasingly
be built right into the devices themselves.
This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR report,
"Wireless
LAN and WAN PC Card Markets Gaining Strength",
which contains results from a study that reviewed the
demand for both wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and
wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) PC cards, including
willingness to pay, distribution channels, applications
used and planned, and the devices that people want to
use to connect to the WLAN and WWAN.
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