台灣公眾無線區域網路產業營運模式與發展機會之研究

Abstract

2002年以來全球興起佈建無線區域網路(Wireless Local Area Network)熱點(Hotspot)的風潮，儘管至今許多失敗的案例紛紛傳出，相關業者如WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider；WISP)、電信網路業者、批發服務業者等仍紛紛以802.11系列技術投入公眾無線區域網路(Public Wireless Local Area Network；PWLAN )。雖然許多業者前仆後繼投入此領域，但PWLAN服務市場發展至今仍然處在不甚明朗的狀態。 2004年全球無線區域網路設備中有超過8成是台灣製造；行動電話普及率超過111%，台灣政府宣佈推動「M台灣」計畫，預期在未來五年內致力打造台灣無線應用內容服務的環境，帶動未來全台通訊產業達2兆的市場規模。「無線網路新都」計畫將於2005年底完工，屆時台北市將成為全球第一個熱點覆蓋率超過85%以上的無線城市。因此未來幾年內台灣PWLAN產業發展將受全球關注。 本研究針對公眾無線區域網路服務市場進行研究，採用文獻分析法等定性研究方法，針對公眾無線區域網路產業發展的各項議題，蒐集國內外專業書籍雜誌、研究機構調查報告、網站資料、研討會、期刊、報紙及相關論文資料，以歸納、分析、整理有關國內外公眾無線區域網路之產業環境、技術發展、應用服務與未來發展趨勢，彙整出營運模式、安全性、定價與計費機制、漫遊機制與競爭技術五大議題，並探討其現狀與未來趨勢，最後對台灣公眾無線區域網路產業未來的發展提出建議。電信業者應該積極佈局，運用現有的競爭優勢，整合既有的電信服務，佔據家庭無線網路樞紐的地位，未來台灣的公眾無線區域網路產業會有無限的成長空間。

WLAN hotspots have sprung up all over the world since 2002. Even though there are a few failed cases in this field, companies, such as wireless internet service providers, telecom network service providers, internet service providers, and wholesale providers, have been investing in IEEE 802.11 public wireless local area networks (PWLAN). In 2004, over 80 percent of the world’s WLAN equipment either made in Taiwan or by Taiwanese companies manufacturing in China, and the penetration rate of mobile phones in Taiwan has boosted over 111%. As a result, the Taiwanese government has announced the “M Taiwan Project” aiming to build wireless content service environment in Taiwan within five years. Taipei City Government has also scheduled to complete a project of “Wireless Internet City” by end of 2005, which targeted to cover 85 percent of Taipei City with PWLAN access points. Taiwan’s WLAN industry should benefit by such infrastructure buildup. This thesis analyzed the technical, services, and business development of PWLAN, with special emphasis and discussion on the issues of business models, security, charging mechanisms, roaming capability, and competitive technologies. At the end, this study suggests that existing fixed-line and wireless telecom operators should take advantage of their existing infrastructure to deploy PWLAN facility, bundle PWLAN service with their existing services, and aggressively position themselves to be the gateway between wireless homes or business networks and the public networks.