WiFi Will Cause Sales of Wireless LAN Chips to Double in 2011

With all the changes on the IT market, iSuppli figured it would look into what may happen on the wireless front, and it found that WiFi will be a major driving force behind sales of wireless LAN chips.

It would appear that, as the semiconductor market grows as a whole, certain segments will increase more than others.

One of the markets that iSuppli says will go through a major sales boost is that of wireless local area network processors.

Such chips are found in both standalone (routers) and embedded devices (laptops, printers, cameras, mobile phones, tablets, TVs etc.).

WLAN chipsets are mostly based on the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, but there are also WPAN and Zigbee technologies running around.

Either way, with WiFi on the loose and getting more and more widespread, shipments of WLAN chipsets will reach 738.9 million units in 2011, 101.5% more than in 2010 (366.8 million).

“Wireless connectivity has become a must-have item in electronic devices in the computer, consumer, communications and automotive markets,” said Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for consumer and communication electronics at IHS.

“These days, an electronic product not capable of communicating or accessing content at any time or in any place is regarded by consumers as deficient. This wireless revolution is contributing to a global boom in demand for Wi-Fi chipsets.”

“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,” Rebello added.

“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.”

WLAN chipset sales should rise to 1 billion in 2014 and may go as high as 2 billion by 2014.