The North American market for muni wireless could reach a value of $10 billion by 2011, according to ON World.
Public Internet access may be the most widely discussed element of the municipal wireless broadband market, but the real meat in muni wireless is in new services opportunities such as mobile VoIP, public safety, transportation and utility networks.
Those elements should represent more than two-thirds of that $10 billion total.
Nearly two-thirds of the interviewed municipalities in the survey are using or plan to use wireless broadband for public safety. The report found that Motorola’s lead in this market is both disruptive and sustainable, which represents a threat to other equipment vendors.
The report also finds that a quarter of mobile professionals in the survey would be interested in a WiFi-enabled mobile phone that supports VoIP, and that nearly half of the interviewees were highly interested in using a cell phone with mobile VoIP. In addition, 53 percent said they would be willing to spend $31 to $50 per month.