Over 84 Million People In US Will Plug Into Wireless Internet.

Wireless Internet usage is on the rise. According to IDC, the number of wireless subscribers in the United States will increase at a whopping compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 73%, from approximately 5 million in 2000 to more than 84 million in 2005.

While consumer and business users both make up roughly equal pieces of the wireless Internet user base, business usage is expected to be higher in the near future. “Business users will lead the way in wireless adoption as they are usually the early adopters and are willing to pay for services and applications they see valuable,” said Charul Vyas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Wireless and Mobile Communications program. “Businesses tend to introduce new services and devices to their employees first, and mobile employees have a need for highly functional devices with higher speed wireless Internet capabilities.”

According to primary IDC research, the number of business wireless Internet users will grow from 2.6 million in 2000 to more than 49 million in 2005. IDC research also finds that consumers are interested in accessing Internet information from their phones or PDAs, which, in turn, should cause consumer adoption to take off.

IDC believes that beginning in 2003, the U.S. market will see significant uptake in wireless Internet services resulting in the following:

Wireless data rates will be faster than landline dial-up rates as carriers roll out their 2.5G and 3G networks.
More functional end-user equipment designed for wireless Internet usage will become available in mass-market quantities in 2003-2004.

For more information at http://www.idc.com.