This IDC study presents IDC's hotspot network equipment spending forecast for Western Europe for 2006-2010. Hotspot equipment covered includes indoor and outdoor access points, wireless bridges, wireless routers, and switches used in public hotspots. This study also takes a closer look at emerging technologies, such as WiMAX and HSDPA and how they will interact and influence 802.11-based systems in hotspot networks. It provides location forecasts for airports, airport lounges, hotels, restaurants and cafs, convenience stores, train stations, exhibition and conference centers, gas stations and phone booths. Only commercially deployed hotspots are covered in this research - free wireless networks, city networks, or community networks and enterprise hotspots are not.

"The European hotspot market continues to offer opportunities to network vendors in which it will become more important to offer a complete solution to the hotspot provider," said Evelien Wiggers, a senior research analyst in IDC's European Telecommunications and Networking team. "The size of the hotspot itself is expanding at the premises and beyond and therefore a complete indoor and outdoor solution will become much more important."