Date: 01/02/2012

In-Stat estimates Wi-Fi chipset revenue to reach $6.1B in 2015

In-Stat has forecasted a sales of Wi-Fi chipsets to reach $6.1 billion in 2015. The new markets such as smart meters, wireless mice, automobiles, and home automation are going the drive this market, as per In-Stat.

"As Wi-Fi appears in more and more devices the demand for additional bandwidth will grow along with it," says Greg Potter, Analyst. "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."

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.