Cradlepoint, a company for cloud LTE and 5G edge solutions, recently revealed the findings from its annual State of Wireless WAN Report, compiled by IDG. The company said that the results of the survey seem to show that the era of Wireless WAN has arrived and is acting as critical infrastructure and playing a role in business recovery from the pandemic. The survey findings reportedly also demonstrate confidence and excitement for 5G, pointing to increasing adoption in the coming year.
“Having a secure, flexible, and reliable WAN edge is more critical to business success than ever,” said Donna Johnson, VP, Product and Solution Marketing, Cradlepoint. “As organizations look to adapt to a new normal and get back to business, Wireless WAN solutions uniquely enable network agility while enhancing security and scale.”
Findings from the report include:
Wireless WAN Rises
Fifty-seven percent of respondents said bandwidth is a reason for adopting broadband, and 49 percent said it was a reason for choosing LTE. Today’s cellular networks are approaching fiber-fast speeds and provide rapid deployment capabilities that are unparalleled.
LTE Enables Business Agility
Fifty-one percent of the surveyed business leaders cited the flexibility of LTE to enable new services as a top reason for turning to Wireless WAN solutions. Seventy-eight percent of companies said they either use or plan to use LTE to provide WAN or internet connectivity to at least some locations. Fifty-three percent of companies are using it to connect in-vehicle networks, and 77 percent are connecting IoT devices. Additionally, 40 percent of respondents are using LTE to connect fixed locations, vehicles, and IoT, making LTE the top choice for connecting people, places, and things across the rapidly expanding WAN edge.
5G: Ready to Take Off
IT decision-makers believe in the promise of 5G, with 67 percent either confident or very confident 5G will deliver business benefits within the next year. Eighty-two percent believe 5G will deliver increased WAN speeds within the next year, and 66 percent think it will provide improved reliability.
“It’s no secret that the ongoing pandemic has forced businesses to be more innovative and creative than ever, and Wireless WAN has proven to be a critical enabler,” Johnson said. “With the emergence of 5G bringing faster speeds and smarter cellular networks, the ascension of Wireless WAN as critical infrastructure is inevitable.”
View the full State of Wireless WAN Report 2020 here.
Cradlepoint partnered with IDG to conduct an online survey of 499 IT decision-makers (vice presidents, directors, and managers) in the US, Canada, and the UK. The report details the research ?ndings and offers insight into the growth of Wireless WAN in the enterprise, how businesses are using Wireless WAN, and how they plan to use 5G and other cellular advancements as the speed and capabilities of wireless connections continue to evolve. Survey respondents were required to have a title of IT manager or higher and work for a company with 50 or more employees. The respondents represented a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, ?nancial services, healthcare, and construction.
Ken Briodagh is a storyteller, writer and editor with about two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.Edited by
Ken Briodagh
