Communications and Technology Industry Research

Although the high-tech industry is always in flux, and therefore it’s hard to make predictions about what will happen in the future, one thing does seem certain: people prefer to work with devices that don’t require the use of physical wires.

 

A key enabler of wireless products is the WiFi chipsets used in various devices. Given people’s affinity for wires-free technology, it is hardly surprising when predictions are made that various segments of the WiFi (News - Alert) market will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

 

That’s precisely what ABI Research (News - Alert) did this week, in a new report predicting healthy growth for the WiFI semiconductor market through 2012. In fact, an important milestone for the industry will be reached around the middle of next year (2008), the research firm forecasts. That milestone? One billion cumulative chipset shipments.

 

“Cumulative shipments of one billion Wi-Fi ICs mark a significant milestone, but even more impressive, there will be well over a billion chipsets shipped in 2012 alone, with cellular handsets and consumer electronics accounting for over two-thirds of that total,” ABI analyst Philip Solis said in a statement.

The projections ABI made in its latest WiFi report are based on current conditions in the market, as well as historical data. For example, the firm noted that during 2006, shipments of WiFi chipsets were just shy of the 200 million mark; cumulative shipments were 500 million.

 

ABI also placed an emphasis on consumer electronics, by including in its report data about mini-PCI and miniCard chipsets used in laptop computers.

 

“From our point of view, cellular handsets and consumer electronics were always the most important end products for Wi-Fi chipset vendors to focus on,” Solis said in the report.

 

He added: “With more than two-thirds of Wi-Fi chipsets going into these two product categories in 2012, it is critical for chipset vendors to secure the appropriate customer wins in order to sustain or grow their market share.”