Just catching up on the thread and have some thoughts to add about wireless use that I don't believe have been mentioned:
1) A lot of what I read predicts the last mile will be more and more wireless for both business and residential as we move forward.
2) Developing countries are using wireless where the developed ones have been traditionally wired. The infrastructure costs for wireless are much more affordable in these areas than going wired. Consequently, in poorer areas where they are installing initial telecommunications systems, the prevalence of wireless communication may be greater than wired. So, in these parts of the world where the number of wireless devices per person might at first blush be expected to be lower than more affluent countries, it might actually be higher.
3) Some predictions for a few years from now have wireless phones replacing wired. I concur. If I didn't have a teenager at home, and had wireless internet access, my wired phone would be history in a heartbeat.
I have little use for the wired house phone (I take or make maybe one call from home per week), yet I got my first cell phone in July. I have averaged over 200 minutes a month for legitimate calls that I simply could not have made in the past because of where I was. I got rid of the second line in the house, and now when I'm on-line, the kids don't bug me to get off, as they use the cell phone. Even, my wife who wanted to know why I "was getting one of those things", now sees the value and convenience.
I think that we're at about PC 1988. Look at the growth in number of PCs per household, and the turnover in them in the last 10 - 12 years since then. People who never envisioned having such a device now have a couple versions of them in the house, or car/briefcase. I've had/have three desktop and three laptops during that period. Apple computer has gone back in the black selling iMacs to college kids and first time computer users.
I see portable wireless devices being ubiquitous in comparison. As I've stated, even the majority of PCs are likely to have wireless features in the future.
Marc |
