01 January 2003

Discrete and process wireless markets to skyrocket

Technology research firm Venture Development Corp. said shipments of wireless products for monitoring and control in discrete and process manufacturing to North American markets will grow from about $109 million in 2001 to nearly $752 million by 2006.

The reasons for this robust growth are as follows:

• A growing awareness of the many benefits provided by wireless monitoring and control
• Lower installation cost of wireless vs. wired alternatives
• More efficient maintenance & repair with wireless, thereby lowering maintenance costs
• Greater flexibility for ease of change-outs with wireless, especially valuable in applications where change-outs are frequent and expensive

The market segment for wireless networking products was the largest in 2001 and will remain the largest in 2006. Wireless modems account for the largest share of shipments.

However, higher market growth rates are likely for wireless I/O devices and extensions and wireless networking access points. Connection of devices (actuators, sensors, etc.) through I/O devices and extensions with the multiplexing of signals over networks typically provides cost-effective solutions.

Wireless access points allow tapping into the wired LANs increasingly being utilized in industrial automation, to give good coverage for mobile and other applications.