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May 27, 2009

ABI Research says that there's no less than $6.8 billion that was put aside for wireless communication upgrades and deployments in the next two years.

That money will greatly benefit wireless vendors and increase mobile phone technology penetration into even more industries, suggests ABI's latest report.

ABI cites the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as potential goldmines for wireless technology vendors.

Those two agencies are likely to use stimulus funds for tactical communications equipment, infrastructure hardware and security deployments. Even critical infrastructure construction projects such as bridges and tunnels often require wireless video surveillance systems, said ABI.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) represents a windfall for wireless service providers as well as for satellite service providers, said ABI Vice President Stan Schatt in a report.

“It will have an enormous impact on Wi-Fi technology and wireless broadband vendors. It will also immediately benefit a number of specific vertical industries, including healthcare, education, homeland security, the environment and the nation’s electricity infrastructure,” added Schatt.

Another example of this is healthcare, which will likely add wireless capabilities into many of the daily operations through Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices and sensors, communications systems linking health networks, telepresence, wireless LAN equipment and Wi-Fi-enabled video surveillance systems.

“Many of the spending opportunities lie under the surface. A civil engineering project which seems mainly about concrete and steel may actually benefit from a lot of wireless technology. Since wireless vendors can’t apply for funds themselves, they are doing everything in their power to help their customers do so,” said Schatt.

ABI also said that the education segment is already an early adopter of Wi-Fi technology and that equipment vendors are developing "templated solutions" like W-LAN equipment and software to track students’ progress for “No Child Left Behind” record keeping.

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Source: ABI Research.