A study commissioned by the Wi-Fi Alliance not surprisingly found that Wi-Fi users in fact do enjoy the convenience of Wi-Fi technology. Survey.com conducted the survey, which tallied 1,000 Americans from various income levels between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1.
“As Wi-Fi is now shipped in millions of products and deployed in millions of homes, businesses and hot spots worldwide, the technology has moved beyond the realm of a computer feature. Wi-Fi has fast become a cultural phenomenon,” said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Interesting tidbits from the survey include:
- 65 percent of respondents said Wi-Fi technology helps them stay in touch with friends and family via tools such as instant messaging and e-mail.
- 53 percent said that Wi-Fi gives them freedom to socialize online.
- 68 percent said Wi-Fi technology helps them be more productive at home, performing tasks such as online shopping and banking.
- 74 percent said Wi-Fi technology allows them to get out of their home office and work in other rooms or outdoors.
- 70 percent said with Wi-Fi technology available in hotels and airports, they are more inclined to bring their laptops along when traveling for personal reasons.
“We have seen considerable anecdotal evidence that Wi-Fi can change the way we work, play and live, and these results give us considerable insight into how wireless networking can improve daily life.” said Hanzlik.
Hanzlik went on to explain that the Wi-Fi Alliance recently formed a task group that will devise interoperability testing for 802.11n product certifications. The IEEE is expected to ratify a standard by the end of next year, and the certification group expects to be ready with its interoperability tests by the first quarter of 2007. For now, Hanzlik noted that consumers can already see the Wi-Fi Certified logo on more than 2,000 802.11a/b/g products, which lets them know that the equipment has passed interoperability testing conducted by the Wi-Fi Alliance. RCR
