Fixed wireless telemetry has growing market potential

During the past two years we have come to view the wireless voice market as dictating the pace of the wireless market. Now comes a detailed study by In-Stat offering evidence that the market potential for fixed wireless telemetry applications is larger than the wireless voice market. There is a hitch, though: The rate of adoption of fixed wireless telemetry is slowed down by the cost of service and telemetry modules which are used in applications such as utility meters, vending machines, and temporary point-of-sale terminals. The cost barrier to adoption is being lowered, though, and the situation is improving, In-Stat says. This is good news for anything having to do with homeland security at all levels, where sensor networks play an ever larger role in monitoring everything from an individual door to large parts of the U.S. critical infrastructure. “The prospects for safety and security applications are the brightest,” says In-Stat’s Bill Hughes. “Heightened awareness of the need for security, money from the Department of Homeland Security, and the perception of wireless technology as a good way to increase reliability will have this segment growing faster than historical rates.”

Among other findings in the recent report:

Each vertical has unique barriers to adoption which cannot be overcome unless the solution provider takes the time and effort to understand the vertical’s needs and issues;

The majority of telemetry applications have no need for broadband wireless technologies

Rate plans are decreasing in price and increasing in flexibility.

The report, “Wireless Telemetry Services for US Businesses” (#IN0502036MBD) may be purchased for $2,495.

-read more on the report at In-Stat Web site