Global hot spots to surpass 45,000 by end-2003

CAMBRIDGE, U.K.-Global Wi-Fi hot spots will exceed 45,000 by the end of the year, according to Pyramid Research.

The group believes more than half of the hot spots deployed by the end of 2003 will be in Asia, with North America and Europe continually gaining steam in hot-spot rollouts. Specifically, Pyramid expects Asia to host 24,292 hot spots, Europe to have 10,163 hot spots and North America to have 10,970. Latin America will lag behind with just 550 hot spots at the end of this year.

Pyramid expects growth in the public Wi-Fi sector to continue and predicts there will be 100,000 hot spots worldwide by early 2005.