Wifi Revolution

ABI Research, a global research company offering analysis and forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies, has predicted WiFi (News - Alert) IC shipments to surpass 770 million units in 2010, up almost 33 percent compared to 2009. Shipment of 802.11n ICs is also indicated to surge ahead of 802.11g and dominate the market this year, which would account for approximately 60 percent of total WiFi IC shipments.

"The 802.11n standard which was ratified last year is a powerful growth engine to drive the WiFi IC market increases," said Celia Bo, wireless and semiconductor industry analyst at ABI Research (News - Alert).

Global shipments of WiFi ICs have been seeing an extraordinary growth in recent years, due to the increasing demands for wireless-enabled devices and enterprise level applications. The cellular handsets segment is seen to be maintaining the highest unit shipment of WiFi-enabled products in next five years, achieving an estimated CAGR of 25 percent between 2009 and 2015; the penetration rate will reach approximately 40 percent of total handsets shipped in 2015.

Laptops, netbooks, and MIDs are other segments are also anticipated to experience higher shipments across all WiFi-enabled products, and the trend, according to the research company, is sure to carry on throughout the following years.

"The penetration rates of Wi-Fi ICs in consumer electronic products will to grow continue robustly," Bo added.

The analyst expects the total shipments of consumer electronic products with WiFi functionality to exceed 530 million in 2015, with a 26 percent CAGR between 2009 and 2015. Shipments of WiFi-enabled digtal still cameras, TVs and DVD players are said to increase more than tenfold in 2015 as compared to 2009.

“The demand for Wi-Fi-enabled home entertainment products such as networked game consoles and handheld game consoles is increasing as well: between 2009 and 2015, the CAGR will reach 8 percent and 6 percent respectively,” Bo clarified.

ABI Research's market data product "Wi-Fi IC Market Share Analysis and Forecasts" addresses marketing and technical analysis of Wi-Fi ICs.

ABI Research has also released yet another research report on Linux-based Smartphone Shipments, where the company anticipates Linux-based smartphone shipments to outstrip growth of the entire smartphone market in 2010. Click here to know more about this analysis.