Date: 16/09/2010

ABI: IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network chipset shipment to reach 645million in 2015

ABI Research, in the latest release of its wireless sensor networks market database has forecasted that the IEEE 802.15.4 market will grow from 10.2 million chipsets in 2009 to 645 million in 2015, a CAGR of 99.6%. In 2009, 802.15.4 chipset shipments were down close to 30 percent compared with the previous year.

The adoption of ZigBee RF4CE within the home entertainment market has supported much of the growth seen in the wireless sensor networks (WSN) market over the past year. During a period in which the key ZigBee markets of smart metering and smart energy were impacted by the economic slowdown, the launch of RF4CE has seen demand for ICs supporting the specification grow dramatically.

"When our database was launched in early 2009, the home entertainment market wasn't even worth segmenting," says principal analyst Jonathan Collins. "Now, it represents 30 percent of the 802.15.4 chipset market."

ABI says that initiatives such as ZigBee RF4CE for home entertainment systems have already started to deliver significant market growth and while ZigBee is far from the only 802.15.4-based technology delivering short range wireless connectivity, it is leading in the early adoption of smart energy and home automation. Other key markets for WSN adoption are in home, building, and industrial automation.