The Bengaluru International Airport, which is finally operational, boasts of a porter service for which passengers can make the payment through a credit card. The roving agents carry a cool gadget, which wirelessly links up to the server to generate the bill on the spot.

In another instance, ground staff of a domestic airline carries a Wi-Fi equipped device and prints off a boarding card for a traveler at a long line in the check-in counter. Perhaps, many of you have enjoyed the convenience of paying petrol bills from the car via a credit card without having to walk up to the counter.

India will witness in the near future many such innovative enterprise wireless business applications. Corporate investment in the enterprise wireless division has been on an upswing. Entrepreneurs can hope to build applications related to customer pain points just in their backyard. Initiatives such as ‘Unwire Pune’ or ‘Unwire Bangalore’ and large-scale developments of hotspots by corporates, telcos, PSUs, and academic institutions will further accelerate the wireless momentum. Wi-Fi adaptation by sectors other than technology like realty, retail, infrastructure, and the Indian Railways is all the more interesting.

The Indian wireless market is on the cusp of a huge growth curve that is being lifted up by the increasing usage of laptops and mobile devices and reduced broadband rates. The booming Indian economy is driving Wi-Fi based equipment sales, enterprise wireless business applications, and productivity solutions.

802.11n heralds the era of the wire-free office? with top speeds of up to 300 Mbps, it’s clearly a catalyst for cutting the cords that tether the users to their desks. There’s no doubt that within a few years, Wi-Fi will become the new network edge for companies interested in saving money and attracting top talent.