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We often talk about using Wi-Fi to create hot spots, but here we talk about finding a new ‘hot spot’ for Wi-Fi. That new hot spot is the K through 12 educational system in the United States. Like a fire raging across a prairie of dry brush, the demand for ubiquitous Wi-Fi access in school systems across the country is hot.

This topic is the focus of a new ABI Research brief, The K-12 Wi-Fi Market Opportunity. It analyzes this burgeoning market and evaluates the vendors hoping to profit from it. This report sizes this very lucrative market and describes the major drivers behind growth in the sale of Wi-Fi equipment to K-12 schools, as well as the obstacles to even more rapid growth. It also provides a SWOT analysis of the leading vendors.

In round numbers, ABI points out that there are roughly 98,000 primary and secondary schools in the United States, with approximately 50 million students – add staff and teachers. Increasingly those schools’ administrators want to provide Wi-Fi coverage for students and staff. This presents a major market opportunity and the leading Wi-Fi equipment vendors are pursuing it with vigor.

While there are some obstacles to this market’s growth, including educational funding constraints, inadequate infrastructure, lack of trained personnel, and security concerns, a number of other factors are driving it.

Forces driving Wi-Fi into schools include heightened concerns for physical security, meaning deployment of wireless surveillance cameras; the need for economical ways to extend schools’ phone systems; the presence of purpose-designed Wi-Fi products; the birth of “anytime, anywhere,” on-demand instruction, and last but by no means least, the ‘One Laptop per Child’ initiative, which was designed for children in developing countries, but which also means a growing availability of low-cost laptops for US students.

The low-hanging fruit in this new hot market is found in the demographic breakdown of school districts. According to ABI Research’s vice president Stan Schatt, “The 100 largest US school districts represent over 20% of the total available market. Wi-Fi vendors addressing this market will clearly get the most ‘bang for their buck’ by targeting those large school districts first.”

Four of the top Wi-Fi vendors – Cisco Systems, Meru Networks, Aruba Networks, and Trapeze Networks – are focused on this market. Each of those vendors, however, brings its own strengths to the table.

It’s interesting how Wi-Fi has graduated from the board room (corporate world) to the classroom. The mystery of Wi-Fi has receded and its popularity for home and school use has caught fire. No longer viewed as ‘difficult to use’ technology, Wi-Fi is now seen simply as a conduit to extend security, communications and learning – yesterday’s novelty has become today’s necessity.

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