Pages

23

Deliverables

Released

3Q 2011

Product Code

RR-WIFIC-11

Price

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The natural progression of Wi-Fi into more capable protocols and new use cases will have a profound effect on the Wi-Fi chipset industry. Smaller players will try to make a land grab for market share while the established players will defend their turf. In the meantime, the shift to 802.11ac and to dual-band and tri-band solutions, also including 802.11ad, will bolster Wi-Fi chipset ASPs. This will change what would otherwise have been flattening revenue into continually growing revenue over the next five years. This study addresses the driving forces behind what will finally move into the 5 GHz and 60 GHz bands and what has fueled reluctance to change and kept Wi-Fi as mostly a single-band 2.4 GHz solution. It also addresses the shift from SISO to MIMO, including in lower power portable devices, which was previously unthinkable. This study forecasts the shift from 802.11n to 802.11ac and 802.11ad, dual- and tri-band configurations including 802.11ad, and also forecasts various MIMO configurations. This is done for difference product categories and rolled up into the top line segmented forecasts. The study also profiles chipset vendors and their 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ad product offerings, which bands each supports, and which MIMO configurations each supports.

What Questions Does This Report Answer?

• When will the shift to 802.11ac occur in a profound way?
• What will the attach rate of 802.11ad look like five years out?
• What is different this time that will push the shift to multi-band chipsets?
• What will the MIMO configurations look like in three years? Five years?
• How will 802.11ac, 802.11ad, bands, and MIMO configurations look for different product categories?

Who Needs This Report?

• Wi-Fi chipset vendors
• Handset vendors
• Media tablet vendors
• Laptop and netbook vendors
• Consumer electronics vendors
• Mobile operators
• Hotspot vendors
• Enterprise CIOs