In dustry sources project that the Wi-Fi market (including WLAN hardware, systems integration, and software services, not including embedded devices such as laptops) will grow to Rs. 3,200 crore by 2011-12. Sources also point out that booming real-estate market growing at 30 percent annually, where new townships are coming up in tier-2 and tier-3 towns, coupled with the fact that organized retail was expected to add about 220 million square feet of space by 2010, provided the perfect platform for Wi-Fi to take off in India.

The phenomenal growth in the laptop consumption has led to the innovations to push technologies such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max to beyond expected limits. The laptop market will continue to grow exponentially over the next two-three years. With an estimated 80 percent laptops shipped being Wi-Fi enabled, there will be a number of mobile Wi-Fi computers in the cities. Although the near-term opportunity for Wi-Fi is primarily oriented toward traditional data applications (web surfing, email) via a PC, India's mobile revolution has already generated a cellular subscriber population which is likely to cross the 250 million mobile population within 2008. With 3G scheduled to be launched by the end of the year, a whole community of data-capable, multi-band smart phones mobile devices is entering the market and the sales will sky-rocket.

Current scenario

Wi-Fi has been deployed in enterprises, campuses, and SOHO sectors for several years. The availability of a robust national data-network backbone remained somewhat unutilized all these years due to high cost of data circuits and generally high bandwidth costs. This has changed significantly in the last year with a general drop of over 70 percent in data link prices. Wi-Fi enabled notebooks are proliferating and riving the adoption of enterprise WLAN. This adoption is radically changing business operations, the network edge, data centers, and centralized IT control.

The IEEE802.11n standard is sure to enhance mobility for businesses and consumers of all types. The technology is expected to come at the speed of wireline fast Ethernet speed, and the range higher than other prior standard devices are able to support.

The growth in commercial office space requirements is led by the burgeoning outsourcing and information technology (IT) industry-for example, IT and ITeS alone is estimated to require 150 million square feet across urban India by 2010. The development of hotspots made by corporates, telcos and PSUs, especially the Indian Railways will also add fuel to the Wi-Fi market.

Some of the projects worth mentioning include Data Infosys Ltd's project in Jaipur to transform Jaipur into a Wi-Fi city. The company, in terms of a memorandum of understanding signed with the Rajasthan government, is planning to have hotspots in several parts of Jaipur under the Wi-Fi City project.

The Delhi government has decided to make all the metro stations Wi-Fi enabled. It has identified bidders including internet and telecom players such as MTNL, Net4 India, Spectranet, Tulip IT Services and Microsense for these projects. Gemini Communications and Velocis Systems have also emerged prospective bidders.

Tata Communications, which has already rolled out rolled out 350 plus public hotspot locations is set to increase the chain to about 1,000 this year in 2008. In the same vein, BSNL is setting up 100,000 Community Service Centres that will carry powerful info kiosks with internet connectivity There are plans to make a significant number of these Wi-Fi enabled. Tata Indicom Wi-Fi hotspot locations include major domestic and international airports, leading premium hotels, railway stations, educational institutions, sports stadiums, hospitals, restaurant, coffee shop chains and retail stores. Key locations include Taj Hotels Group, Le Meridian, Cafe Coffee Day and Barista coffee shops, Manipal University, and Wockhardt.

In the rural belt, projects like Ashwini (from Byrraju Foundation) provide people in rural Andhra Pradesh timely access to an array of high quality services using a virtual delivery platform. The connectivity needed for the projects is provided by 802.11 b/g systems. These have been deployed with help from IIT- Kanpur and Media Lab Asia.