New markets such as smart meters, wireless mice, automobiles, and home automation will help drive sales of Wi-Fi chipsets to $6.1 billion in 2015, according to NPD In-Stat.
The Wi-Fi chipset market continues to grow at a brisk pace with an increasing number of consumer electronics' products integrating Wi-Fi. As the demand for devices with Wi-Fi connectivity grows, and as prices for chipsets decrease, new markets for Wi-Fi are opening in areas traditionally dominated by other wireless connectivity standards.
“As Wi-Fi appears in more and more devices the demand for additional bandwidth will grow along with it. Granted, broadband speeds are not yet fully utilizing the available bandwidth allowed by Wi-Fi. However, newer use cases — such as streaming high-definition video from devices to the TV — necessitate an increase in bandwidth. New standards such as 802.11ac aim to provide that necessary speed increase,” said Greg Potter, analyst, NPD In-Stat.
Other key research findings include:
• The introduction of low-power Wi-Fi chipsets presents a challenge to Bluetooth in certain markets.
• 802.11ac will grow rapidly with chipset shipments to surpass 650 million by 2015.
• By 2015, the three biggest markets for 802.11ac will be smartphones, notebooks, and tablets.
• All of the chips shipping in the automotive market will be Bluetooth/Wi-Fi combo chips.
For more information click on: Wi-Fi Chipsets: Is 802.11ac The New Black?