Even though the focus—and of so many people—is with enterprise and large-scale deployments, in explaining what makes Wi-Fi compelling, we must not lose track of the consumer, and how consumer demands have pushed the entire Wi-Fi industry forward, inevitably benefiting the enterprise.
The major contribution the consumer space has given Wi-Fi is that is has driven people to demand wireless. Three historic events changed the landscape of mobility and connectivity: the Internet moved into the home; laptops replaced desktops and were being issued by corporate IT for usage everywhere; and darkly roasted coffee came onto the scene. Or rather, for the last one, people began to find reasons to want to work and live outside of the home and office. All three demanded a simpler solution than having to drag oversized telephone cables around with each user. And that gap was filled with Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi is now in many places that mobile users are expected to show up in. In the home, it is difficult now to find a consumer-level gateway that does not include wireless. Just as television once was the centerpiece of the living room, but contention over control of the remote and the drop in prices lead televisions to spring up in nearly every room of the house, the Internet has migrated from being connected to one prized home computer in the living room to being spread throughout the house by Wi-Fi. In the enterprise, the advantages of unwiring the network edge has lead to IT organizations peppering the office with access points. And on the road, hotels, airports, cafes, and even sporting arenas have outfitted with Wi-Fi, to try to encourage their customers to get back with their online selves as often as possible, and maybe make each one be a little more "sticky" in the meanwhile.
What this means for voice mobility is that the cycle of demand drives the technology to get ever better. Consumers' demand and expectations "pull" advanced wireless into the home, just as enterprises "push" laptops onto their employees, encouraging them to be used outside the office, therefore increasing the number of hours employees think and do their work far beyond the amount of time each employee spends in the office.
And with this cycle of demand also comes maturity of the underlying technology. Wi-Fi has gone through a number of iterations, getting faster, more powerful, and less prone to mistakes. Now, it is nearly impossible to find laptops without wireless built in. It is even an option on many desktop systems, not considered to be traditionally mobile, yet eager to be joined in on the wireless bandwagon to help company's save on cabling costs.
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