Wi-Fi offloading from cellular networks is clearly no longer an afterthought, as evidenced by IHS iSuppli's forecast that nearly 1.2 billion handsets out of a total of 1.9 billion produced in 2015 will include Wi-Fi functionality.
Some 70 percent of handsets sold globally in 2015 will include embedded Wi-Fi, and that number will be substantially higher in advanced markets in North America and Western Europe, said the research firm.
In addition, by 2015 about 725 million households worldwide will have a Wi-Fi access point, with growth in this arena being driven by global broadband penetration, said IHS iSuppli.
The firm predicts shipments this year of Wi-Fi chipsets will reach 2.14 billion units, a 20 percent from 1.78 billion shipped during 2012.
"This year's anticipated increase continues the impressive run of double-digit growth that started at least five years ago and will persist for three more years until 2016, after which expansion dips to a still-strong 9 percent. By 2017, Wi-Fi chipset shipments will amount to 3.71 billion units, as shown in the attached figure," said the company.
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Source: IHS, inc., April 2013 |
For the period 2011-2017, IHS iSuppli said a total of 18.7 billion Wi-Fi chipset units will be shipped, nearly all in the 802.11n flavor.
For more:
- see this IHS iSuppli release
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