Surging global demand for wireless network equipment is expected to trigger a 20 percent jump in annual sales growth this year for local equipment manufacturers, an industry pundit said yesterday.
"Sales of global wireless network equipment is estimated to jump from US$1.5 billion in 2001 to US$1.8 billion in 2002, of which Taiwan ventures is set to take at least 70 percent market share," said Sun Min-cheng (孫民承), a researcher at the Taipei-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心).
A wireless network or wireless local-area network (WLAN) is a data communications system that serves as an alternative to a wired local-area network. By using radio frequency technology, the network transmits and receives data over the air, eliminating the need for wired connections.
Wireless networks are already in use at about 400 locations in Taiwan, such as CKS International Airport, Taipei Sungshan Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport, hotels and some coffee shops.
The service enables users to transmit e-mail and browse Web sites via notebooks or personal digital assistants without plugging devices into a wall socket.
For those that want to get online via a WLAN, the installation of a network interface card and passwords provided by service operators are needed. Operators have to set up access points -- one about every 100m -- throughout service areas.
Taiwan is the world's top OEM (original equipment manufacturing) center for network interface cards and access points, followed by South Korean, Sun said.
The expanding market of WLAN will benefit Taiwan's export business, he said.
"We estimated the global sales of WLAN equipment will hit US$3.5 billion by 2005, and Taiwan's market share will be at between 70 percent to 80 percent," he said.
The government think tank's estimate jibes with another research center's study.
Jump in demand to boost sales
According to International Data Corp (IDC), a US-based information technology industry research center, by 2005, the global average annual sales growth rate of WLAN equipment be 41 percent.
IDC said that Taiwan exported about 8 million WLAN equipment units, including network interface cards and access points, last year, and the number is expected to reach 20 million this year.
MIC's Sun said the market is expanding rapidly as technology matures and equipment prices decline further.
"For example, a network interface card that used to be priced at US$100 years ago is now available for US$60, and the price of each access point dropped to lower than US$100 as well," he said.
After the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, prices for Internet access equipment began to fall.
"As costs drop, WLAN service providers can offer their services for less, making the product accessable to a wider consumer base," Sun said.
On average, the charge for unlimited access to WLAN services is about NT$500 per month or NT$1 to NT$3 per minute.
WLAN is still mostly utilized by business enterprises rather than individuals, Sun said.
"Companies can now communicate with `mobile' employees in factories via notebooks or personal digital assistants that connect to WLAN, eliminating the need for setting up wired networks in work areas," he said.
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