With Wi-Fi functionality becoming a must-have feature in a whole host of electronic devices, the market for wireless local area network (WLAN) chipsets is poised to double in size in 2011, according to new IHS iSuppli research.
Shipments of WLAN chipsets this year are projected to reach 738.9 million units, up a resounding 101.5 percent from 366.8 million units in 2010. Used in devices to allow consumers share or access content, the chipsets will exceed 1 billion units in shipments next year and then hit more than 2 billion units by 2014.
WLAN chipsets can be found in both standalone solutions and embedded devices.
In the first category, a total of 366 million standalone client access chipsets, access point/bridge router devices and other Wi-Fi embedded equipment shipped in 2010, a 135 percent increase from 2009.
In the second category of embedded solutions, WLAN chipsets offering connectivity have proliferated in a broad range of electronic devices, including laptops, mobile handsets, tablets, high-definition televisions, portable media players, printers, cameras, camcorders, DVD and Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, personal navigation devices and high-end automotive head units.
While WLAN chipsets are based on a Wi-Fi standard known as 802.11n, other connectivity technologies are also making significant inroads into the daily lives of consumers. For instance, Wireless Personal Area Networking (WPAN) governs disparate technologies like Bluetooth and Near Field Communications. In both technologies, radio waves transmit and exchange data over short distances between devices, enhancing their mobility and ease of use.
Another connectivity technology is Zigbee, which is trying to gain momentum in the home automation and smart utility monitoring applications for residential and commercial building environments. Hopes are being pinned on Zigbee to achieve traction in applications like the heating, cooling and lighting of living spaces, as well as the monitoring of gas, water and electrical utilities.
As Wi-Fi increasingly develops into a standard wireless networking interface for innumerable devices, the easy interconnection capabilities inherent in the technology will open the door for an even greater range of consumer electronic devices to be seamlessly connected and networked, IHS believes.
In turn, significant new business opportunities can be expected to emerge for the silicon suppliers, consumer electronics manufacturers and communication service providers operating in the WLAN space. Broadcom Corp., which emerged as the leader among WLAN chip suppliers in 2008, has maintained its position through the first half of 2010. Other important suppliers are Atheros Communications, which boasts a strong position in the embedded WLAN market for notebooks; and Ralink, a fast-growing design company for integrated circuits based in Taiwan.
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