Yesterday, Dian Schaffhauser of Campus Technology posted an interesting article discussing the recent findings of a new study conducted by ABI Research. According to the research the firm, next-gen WiFi is expected to be in 99% of North American campuses by 2013. Currently the wireless standard 802.11 is found in less than 3 percent of North American universities. Stan Schatt, vice president and research director of ABI states: “ABI Research believes that wi-fi access point and controller equipment revenue in the global higher education market will skyrocket from $137 million in 2007 to $837 million in 2013.”

Of course, motivations for deploying WiFi in schools and colleges vary widely. As Schaffhauser points out, greater security is in demand, especially video surveillance. K-12 schools are embracing an “anytime-anywhere learning” philosophy, and they are placing emphasis on providing networked computers to as many students as possible. Universities, clearly the leading early adopters, are finding that WiFi connectivity is a recruitment requirement for many students.

For more information, be sure to check out Schaffhauser’s full article in Campus Technology.