Economic Study on Deployment of Wireless Local Area Network in Finland

Abstract

This Master's thesis provides the market information and studies the business values of the deployment of wireless local area network (WLAN) in Finland. It includes both WLAN used in enterprises as an extension or replacement of wired network for accessing company network resources, and WLAN used as a temporary access service at public places. However, the focus is on enterprise WLAN. The purpose of the thesis is to find out the market penetration and potential of WLAN at Finnish organizations and the kind of experiences end user organizations have acquired in deploying WLAN systems. The results of the thesis can serve as a recommendation for companies interested in deploying WLAN at their own premises and provide \VLAN vendors with the information on the market from the perspective of end user organizations.

WLAN is an efficient and fast access technology and has been on market for several years. The master thesis explores the current situation in Finland. The research methodology comprises of personal interviews of WLAN experts and product vendors, a web questionnaire survey of 76 Finnish companies out of the top 500, and nine case studies which illustrate how WLAN is actually used in Finnish companies.

According to the survey, 23% of Finnish companies use WLAN to some extent. Many companies wait to see its benefits and suitability. 20% of Finnish companies indicated their wishes to implement WLAN in the next 12 month. Office WLAN is a convenient way to connect to corporate network, and WLAN used in logistics and production improves operational efficiency. Security will not be a major problem as long as proper security measures are implemented. The WLAN market will take off once the standards are mature, better security is available, and its value fully appreciated by Finnish companies.