Summary

This chapter provided not so timid but not too crazy predictions on where wireless networks are going. The capability for everything we mentioned in this chapter exists today. The issue is that the technology is too expensive. Technology costs are dropping all the time, however.

The real determining factor with wireless (and all technology for that matter) is its usefulness to the average consumer or business user. It is a rare event when a technology is broadly adopted within 5 to 10 years of its discovery. In fact, the history of fax machines, cellular phones, and the Internet suggests that the new technology adoption time frame is closer to 25 years than to 5. There are a lot of great “solutions” out there waiting for the right problem to come along. The day that the public demands wireless networking that is faster, goes further, exists in more places, moves with you, and connects to more stuff is the day someone will be standing there with a box that does it.