802.11ac, a new Wi-Fi technology standard which has been devised to provide Gigabit speeds, has, to an extent satisfied the unquenchable craving for speed, which had become the most recent requirement forming part of the unrelenting quest for connectivity in a multitude of devices. As per In-Stat predictions, this new technology standard would grow as fast as the speed it offers, since the demand for 802.11ac-enabled devices would grow from 0 in 2011 to approximately 1 billion by 2015.

In a release, Frank Dickson, vice president of research at In-Stat (News - Alert) said that “The goal of 802.11ac is to provide data speeds much faster than 802.11n, with speeds of around 1Gbps. The timing for 802.11ac approval is to have a draft standard created by 2011 and have the first 802.11ac products out by the end of 2012. The technology behind 802.11ac has not been finalized. However, it will likely involve bonding four or even eight channels together and some tweaks to the modulation scheme.”

The research includes segmentation for PC peripherals, segmentation for medical/industrial applications, segmentation for portable consumer electronics (CE) including digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable video camcorders, segmentation for computing equipment, segmentation for mobile handsets, mobile hotspots and automotive applications and segmentation for networking equipment. In addition, the research also incorporates forecasts of WLAN chipset units by market application segment and by 802.11b/g, 802.11n and 802.11ac and segmentation for stationary CE including audio receivers, Blu-ray players, digital televisions, DVD players and set-top boxes.

The recent In-Stat research named Wireless LAN Market Estimates and Forecast by Device and by Technology 2009-2015 spans over the entire global market for WLAN by device and by technology. According to the research findings, the shipment of mobile devices with embedded Wi-Fi is projected to reach 800 million by 2015. In addition, by the year 2015, 100% of mobile hotspot shipments would be 802.11ac-enabled and the E-readers Wi-Fi attach rates would rise to 90% from the meager 3% in 2009. The Wi-Fi automotive shipment figures are expected to reach nearly 20 million by 2012.