Hotspot aggregator Trustive has released results of a global research project into the WLAN marketplace revealing the growth in hotspot roaming.
The research, which involved more than 100 operators with more than 44,000 hotspots in Europe, Asia and the U.S., found that 80% of the operators have at least one roaming agreement with a Hotspot aggregator.
It also found that almost 20% of the current revenue is coming from roaming, with the three most used hotspot aggregators being Trustive (45%), iPass (43%) and Boingo (40%).
Those same three aggregators also provided the most supported smart clients: iPass (45%) Boingo (33%) and Trustive (31%). And 36% of Hotspot operators believe Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) will be the “killer application” at their Hotspots over the next 12 months.
“This is an exciting snapshot of WLAN roaming today,” said Trustive Managing Director Gavin Dresselhuis. “The research shows that Hotspot aggregators have the momentum when it comes to roaming, and that new technology will shape the future.”
The operators predicted that the number of hotspots they operate would grow an average 38% in 2006-to more than 61,000.
When it comes to usage, the research found that 72% of respondents average 10 or more sessions per day per Hotspot; 36% have 50 or more daily sessions per Hotspot. and that the average session time among all Hotspot operators is 35 minutes.
On roaming standards, the respondents said that 78% of Hotspots would be WISPr compliant by the end of 2006, contrasted to 23% that will be compliant with IRAP.