By 2015, WiFi hotspot numbers will reach 5.8 million, marking a 350% increase since 2011, according to research published by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA).
For Michael Fletcher, sales director at Ruckus Wireless sub-Saharan Africa, consumers, enterprises and operators are always looking for access, and WiFi has proven to be the solution that works.
In Africa, Ruckus Wireless predicts increased consolidation in this space. WiFi in shopping malls and in the hospitality sector will become more common, with a rise of premium services - where basic WiFi is free but additional services will cost extra.
"Offering free WiFi but not being able to connect can cause more damage than not offering it at all," says Ruckus, adding that 2014 will see the first true 3G offload to WiFi in Africa.
Within the enterprise space, the company predicts that cloud solutions for WiFi management and services will continue to provide 'out-of-reach' enterprise technology to SMEs.
WiFi-based location analytics will help organisations increase business intelligence (BI) and better define security policies, while improving the customer/user experience. In line with this, Ruckus forecasts that analytics will be a focus in 2014, with the adoption and integration of bring your own device (BYOD) solutions and social media set to continue.
For service providers, large-scale Hotspot 2.0 roaming consortiums will become a reality in 2014, notes Ruckus, adding that enterprises will increasingly look to service providers for a managed WiFi service that addresses various issues.
This year, multi-system operators worldwide will aggressively embrace WiFi technology as a way to fend off over-builders, add to their service packages, and grab the best locations, notes the company - while work on the convergence of WiFi and LTE small cells persists.
Finally, Ruckus believes carrier-class WiFi management systems will catch up to carrier-class WiFi network infrastructure and policy solutions that help smartphones select between WiFi and cellular connectivity.
"No matter how much network capacity is put in place through a combination of cellular and WiFi, it will never be enough," concludes Fletcher. "More spectrum and spectrum-sharing ideas are required, along with ever-greater network densification."
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