50 Incredible WiFi Tech Statistics That Businesses Must Know [SLIDE DECK]

No matter what business you are in, wireless technology is causing disruption. According to Gartner, the top two Strategic Technology Trends For 2014 are: Mobile Device Diversity & Management and Mobile Apps & Applications. If you are in the retail business, you can be sure your customers are wirelessly comparing products and pricing while shopping your store. If you are in the hotel business, you know that Wi-Fi is the most important amenity to your guests. But did you know that a week without Wi-Fi leaves people grumpier than a week without coffee?

The upside to ubiquitous mobile access is tremendous, but it also comes with risks. Wi-Fi attacks on your data can take less than 2 seconds. Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) is being implemented at businesses and schools around the world, but 60% of businesses do not have a written BYOD policy. As a result, 52% of BYOD users connect to an open or unsecure network; and more than half of all open Wi-Fi networks are susceptible to abuse.

The statistics in this slideshare have been drawn from published sources including Deloitte, IDC, Retail Touch Points, Acronis, SAP, Extreme Networks, Wi-Fi Alliance, Wireless Broadband Alliance, Pew Research, Gartner, and, Hotel Chatter, among others.

Here is my slideshare of 50 remarkable statistics on why wireless technology matters to your business. But please read it sitting down; don't be the one in three who crosses a busy street while distracted by their cell phone.

1. At the end of 2013, there were more mobile devices than people on earth. – SAP
2. Wi-Fi speeds have increased significantly with each release. 11a / 54Mbps / 1999 11n / 450Mbps / 2009 11ac-wave1 / 1.3Gbps / 2012
3. Wi-Fi / mobile data consumption is 44% higher on screens 4.5" and larger. – NPD
4. 75% of people say 1 week without Wi-Fi would leave them grumpier than 1 week without coffee. – Iconic Displays
5. Most businesses are planning to increase Wi-Fi capacity by at least 20% in 2014. – Infonetics
   75% of the increase is to support mobile devices and BYOD users. – HP
6. 2/3 of enterprises allow their employees to bring their own devices into the enterprise today. – Infonetics
7. 38% of 2-year-olds use mobile devices. – Common Sense Media
   Average age for first cell phone is now 13. – SAP
8. Smartphone users spend an average of 60 minutes a day. iPhone users average 90 minutes a day. – Experian
9. Numerous US football stadiums support over 30,000 Wi-Fi connections in a single game. – Extreme Networks
10. A Wi-Fi attack on an open network can take less than 2 seconds. – Extreme Networks
11. There were 1 billion new smartphones shipped in 2013. – IDC
12. There will be more than 7 billion new Wi-Fi enabled devices in the next 3 years. – Sys-Con
13. Wi-Fi has become the medium of choice. 2/3 of US consumers prefer Wi-Fi to Cellular. – Deloitte
14. The base version of 802.11 / Wi-Fi protocol was released in 1997. – Wi-Fi Alliance
15. The Wi-Fi Alliance was founded in 1999. – Wi-Fi Alliance
16. 11ac / Wave2 is set to deliver multi-gig wireless rates in less than 2 years. – Extreme Networks
17. We will need all the speed and capacity we can get! Half of all networking devices will be mobile by 2015. – Infonetics
18. 90% of all smartphones are equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities.
19. 50% of PCs shipped in 2014 will be tablets. – Canlys
    93% of tablet owners will utilize Wi-Fi only. – Deloitte
20. 71% of all mobile communications flows over Wi-Fi. – Wi-Fi Alliance
21. Carriers are utilizing Wi-Fi technology to provide capacity not available on cellular. – Wireless Broadband Association
22. 22% of new carrier capacity will come from Wi-Fi in 2014. – Wireless Broadband Association
23. By 2017, 60% of carrier network traffic will be offloaded to Wi-Fi. – Wireless Broadband Association
24. 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal. Reaching customers on-the-go is more important than ever before. – Google Think Insights
25. Mobile users check their phone 150 times each day. – Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers's
26. 90% of people have a mobile device in reach 100% of the time. – Pew Research Center
27. 44% of people sleep with their smartphone beside their bed. – SAP
28. 80% of smartphone users check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. – IDC
29. 79% of smartphone users have their phone with them for 22 hours a day. – IDC
30. 67% of smartphone users check for messages without being notified. – Pew Research Center
31. 29% of smartphone owners say "they can't live without it." – Pew Research Center
32. 90% of BYOD activities are comprised of; email, calendar, shopping, banking, and social. – Forbes
33. By the end of 2014, 25% of the US workforce will HP use a tablet for primary computing.
34. Organizations predict the percentage of BYO desktops and laptops will grow from 18% to 25%. – Citrix Mobility Report
35. By 2017, 50% of businesses will not supply employee computing devices. – Gartner
36. 69% of polled companies experience no technical or support problems after implementing BYOD. – Deloitte
37. 80% of businesses do not provide education/training on BYOD. 60% of businesses are without a written BYOD policy. – Acronis
38. More than half of all open Wi-Fi networks are susceptible to abuse. – Purple Wi-Fi
39. 80% of the global smartphone market operating system is Android. 79% of all Smartphone malware is in Android Apps. – Trend Micro
40. 94% of tablets in the education market are iPads. – Apple
41. Only 39% of schools in the US have Wi-Fi access. – National Center for Education Statistics
42. Up to 70% of consumers in-store have a Wi-Fi capable device in their pocket. – Retail Touch Points
43. 50% of consumers feel comfortable making a large purchase in-store if Wi-Fi access is available. – Accenture
44. Next generation Wi-Fi on Flights will provide 10x speeds compared to today. It will be rolled out in 2014. – GoGo
45. 64% of hotels now offer free Wi-Fi. – Hotel Chatter
46. 94% of people cite Wi-Fi as the most important amenity. – Hotel Chatter
47. 38% of those say no Wi-Fi is a deal-breaker and will book elsewhere. – Hotel Chatter
48. 60% of people can't go without Wi-Fi for more than 1 day. – Iconic Displays
49. More than 2.7 billion people used the Internet in 2013. That's more than half the world's population. – StateTech
50. By 2020, it is predicted that 24 Billion devices will be connected to the Internet. The vast majority will use some form of wireless for access. – Gigaom