Wireless Connectivity

AT&T (News - Alert), a communications company that offers wireless, WiFi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services, recently revealed that since it expects a large number of people to be packing their bags and heading south to Charlotte, N.C., for the 10th Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Championship, the company is working hard to enhance its network capacity to power a truly satisfying wireless connectivity reality.

Powering a "cell on wheels" which will be leveraged to power the significantly increased wireless capacity that smartphone users are heavily relying on throughout the golf tournament, AT&T said there will no slowdown in data speeds during the exciting event which is currently underway and wrapping up on May 6.

"Events like the Wells Fargo Championship generate memorable experiences that our customers will want to share with friends and family through text messages, photos, status updates on social networks and calls from their mobile devices," said Laurent Therivel, AT&T's vice president and general manager of Mobility and Consumer Markets in the Carolinas in a statement. "We've deployed a team of network engineers that's hard at work on local enhancements to help provide great connectivity, solid coverage and fast speeds."

Touted for offering customers access to the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network, the company is doing its best to think ahead and plan for a variety of situations that could put a negative spin on an attendee’s mobile experience. Expecting approximately 25,000 to 35,000 visitors each day of the golfing tournament, AT&T is encouraging onlookers to bring their cameras to document this once in a lifetime experience.

The temporary “cell on wheels” solution is far from AT&T’s initial attempt to enhance the wireless connectivity experience for residents in the state. In fact, from 2008 through 2011, the company has forked over around $1.8 billion to improve its wireless and wireline networks in North Carolina.

Last week, an interesting study was released by ABI Research (News - Alert) that revealed the wireless connectivity market soared high above the $8 billion mark in 2011. According to findings, wireless connectivity ICs will continue to up the ante on revenue, producing almost $40 billion for Bluetooth, near-field communications (NFC), Wi-Fi, GPS and combo ICs by the year 2016.

Ongoing mergers and acquisitions will have a large affect on the wireless connectivity industry overall. This is seen through the acquisition of Atheros (News - Alert), when Qualcomm dramatically enhanced its wireless connectivity offering and is now working to create a platform from the ground up for the SoC market, which will cater to low to mid-end smartphone and media tablet markets.