Road Warriors Say Wireless Technology Is Crucial

News Release

ROAD WARRIORS WORLDWIDE SAY WIRELESS COMPUTING
TECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING CRUCIAL TO BUSINESS

71 Percent Believe Wi-Fi Will Give
Business Travellers a Competitive Advantage

Business travellers view wireless computing technology as a business necessity only a year after “hotspots” – places where people can tap into a wireless Internet connection with their notebook PCs – became available in cafes, hotels and airports. Today, there are approximately 20,000 hotspots worldwide, a number expected to grow sixfold by 2005.1

According to an international survey of business travellers released today by Intel, 71 percent of road warriors are convinced that Wi-Fi – short for wireless fidelity – will enable business travelers to seize a communications advantage over their competition. While only one in ten road warriors has tried Wi-Fi, nearly 90 percent see wireless computing in their future.

The survey also revealed that being without Internet access while travelling puts businesspeople in an awkward position with bosses, co-workers and customers who have become accustomed to expect prompt email responses. When working in the office, 31 percent of road warriors reply to email within one hour. When road warriors are travelling, only seven percent respond within that same time frame. Thirty percent of road warriors do not respond to email for 48 hours or more while on a business trip. One third of survey respondents said they have suffered significant consequences – such as missed meetings, lost revenue, irate customers, disappointed family members and even job termination – as a result of not having timely access to the Internet while on the road.

While business travellers predictably identified airports (77 percent), hotels (76 percent) and airplanes (60 percent) as the places where they most need hotspots, they also expressed a desire to have wireless Internet access in automobiles, trains and hospitals.

Wireless Computing on the Rise

With built-in Wi-Fi viewed as the next logical step in mobile computing, 70 percent of road warriors said they intend to buy a Wi-Fi-enabled notebook when they make their next notebook PC purchase. Analysts foresee dramatic growth in sales of wireless-enabled notebook PCs. Market research firm IDC predicts that wireless-enabled notebooks will represent 42 percent of all mobile PC sales in 2003 and 95 percent in 2006.2

“Road warriors were the first consumers to make cell phones part of their daily business lives more than 20 years ago, and Wi-Fi is following a similar life cycle,” said Sean Maloney, executive vice president, Intel Corporation, and general manager of the Intel Communications Group. “Right now, we see business travellers and technology buffs using Wi-Fi, but the technology will spread to general consumers as they become aware of the benefits of true mobile computing.”

More details from the Intel “Road Warriors & Wi-Fi” survey is available at
www.intel.com/unwire.

About the Survey
The “Road Warriors and Wi-Fi” survey was sponsored by Intel Corporation and conducted under the direction of The Brain Group, an international research and strategy agency. Fieldwork was executed using a proprietary questionnaire on ways frequent business travellers stay in contact with co-workers and clients, and their attitudes toward the opportunities now available through Wi-Fi technology. The survey was fielded with airport intercept interviews among business people who take at least eight to 10 overnight trips a year. The survey sample consisted of 437 such road warriors from around the world representing Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. The airports included in the survey are New York (JKF), Atlanta, Seattle and Ottawa, Canada. The margin of error is +/- 4.9 percent.

About Intel
Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

1Worldwide Hotspot Forecast, 2002-2007, IDC, 2003
2Intel Launches Centrino; PC Chip Providers Driving Industry Change, IDC, 2003.

Intel, Intel Centrino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Note: Important Information: Wireless connectivity and some features may require you to purchase additional software, services or external hardware. Availability of public wireless LAN access points is limited. System performance measured by MobileMark* 2002. System performance, battery life, wireless performance and functionality will vary depending on your specific hardware and software configurations. See http://www.intel.com/products/centrino/more_info for more information.

ENDS

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