“Municipal Wi-Fi and WiMAX will challenge 3G cellular technology in machine-to-machine communications for many applications and in many locales,” said Sam Lucero, a senior analyst at ABI Research and author of the report.
Third-generation networks are expected to capture only 30 percent of the “M2M” communications market by 2012, predicts ABI Research.
“Some think that cellular networks will eventually be all-3G,” said Lucero. “But ABI Research does not believe that is practical, in terms of cost and power consumption, for all operators in all geographical areas.
“WiMAX and (especially) municipal Wi-Fi offer attractive alternatives to CDMA 1x EV-DO or HSDPA 3G technologies for wide area wireless M2M,” said Lucero. “They are both more cost-effective and operationally efficient.”
In related news, a WiFi-based real-time locating system, using the WhereTag IV provides real-time location, messaging, telemetry, and workforce communication.
The WhereTag IV multimode asset tag (right), combines WhereNet’s time difference of arrival (TDOA) technology to locate asset tags in ISO 24730 mode, and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance, which locates tags in IEEE 802.11 mode.
There have been privacy concerns expressed in some quarters about RFID tags, especially around the possible use of tags on shopping goods to monitor consumer spending habits.
RFID supporters have pointed out that the tags cannot be read at a great distance, but combining the technology with wi-fi raises the possibility of remote tracking, reports the BBC.
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