Posted: 07th Mar, 2007 By: MarkJ
Global roaming giant iPass has reported a 74% increase in the number of European
Wi-Fi access sessions between the first and second half of 2006. Globally,
Wi-Fi usage has increased by 44%, suggesting that the technology still has plenty of room to grow:
The iPass
Wi-Fi Hotspot Index is a report that summarises session* data collected by iPass across its base of approximately 1,000,000 quarterly users, and is designed as a tool for those interested in
Wi-Fi connectivity trends, including reporters, analysts and researchers. With a network consisting of more than 76,000 hotspots in 68 countries, and over 3,000 business customers, including more than 350 companies in the Forbes Global 2000, iPass offers a unique global perspective into the use of
Wi-Fi hotspots by enterprise mobile workers.
Following initial research into
Wi-Fi usage published by iPass in August 2006 ("
iPass Witnesses Wi-Fi Momentum in Europe") the iPass
Wi-Fi Hotspot Index shows that airports continued to be the most popular type of location for
Wi-Fi connections, accounting for 49% of total sessions. Chicago O'Hare airport retained its position as the most popular global
Wi-Fi hotspot location, with an average of 266 iPass sessions per day.
Those looking for a place to sleep where they could stay connected chose the large international hotel chains Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt. Hotels belonging to these chains were visited by over 75,000 active iPass users from July to December.
Interestingly London stood out as the world capital of
Wi-Fi, becoming the most popular city for usage of
Wi-Fi hotspots at non-business travel locations such as cafés, bookstores, and other retail locations with over 11,000 sessions.