Early alert: ABI Research flags large DSRC market later this decade

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.--July 8, 2004--Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) is an idea whose time is fast approaching. But by the end of this decade and beyond, this wireless technology aimed at the motor vehicle will produce a huge market in the United States, with serious implications for the way we use our cars. This is the conclusion reached in a study just produced by ABI Research.

The report, "Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC): The Emerging Wi-Fi and RFID Market for Advanced Automotive Identification, Commerce and Communications", gives early glimpses of a wireless network that will allow real-time traffic updates to be beamed right into a vehicle's navigation system, universal automatic toll collection, streaming entertainment, intelligent safety systems, even interactive commerce. But there is another potential, which promises to alarm privacy watchdogs and thrill homeland security enforcers: a potential for tracking and logging of vehicles' movements and usage.

"It looks like there's going to be a massive infrastructure installation in the US later this decade, probably largely funded by the Department of Transportation," says ABI Research analyst Dan Benjamin. "But it's hard to talk about specifics because no budget or roadmap has been established, yet."

Why, asks the report, would the U.S. government care about installing new infrastructure? Because the existing infrastructure is limited in its usefulness and hindered by compatibility issues.

To cover the country using 802.11 networking at the roadside would involve an initial expenditure, says the report, of at least $1 billion, and probably much more.

Who would run it? Not all functions would be in public hands, and automakers are generally unwilling to assume management duties. This is one area the report points out as a new opportunity for private service contractors.

Benjamin concludes: "There are companies - WiMAX and fixed wireless broadband players, for instance -- that could potentially make a lot of money from this, and they don't even know about it yet."

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations that support annual research programs, quarterly intelligence services and market reports in wireless, automotive, semiconductors, broadband, and energy. Their market research products can be found on the Web at www.abiresearch.com, or by calling 516.624.3113.