26 August 2009

Study: Wireless market growth to continue

Despite the current economic condition, there should be substantial emerging wireless component market growth over the next five years, according to a newly released report.

“Over the last 12 months, many of the emerging wireless technologies are being adopted by OEMs who are beginning to exploit market sectors ranging from home automation to industrial and consumer electronics,” said Kirsten West, principal analyst with West Technology Research Solutions, a Mountain View, Calif.-based industry research firm.

“From wireless sensor networks to wireless connectivity to telecom applications, emerging wireless-based products are beginning to penetrate the market. While growth in some sectors has been slowed by current economic conditions, the overall picture today is one of general positive market expansion.”

Key findings from the report include:

• The Bluetooth SIG went through an expansion campaign over the last 18 months to incorporate newly-emerging protocols such as near-field communications, Wibree, and WiFi.
• Publication of the ZigBee Smart Energy profile is driving the release of many new products.
• Wireless high definition video is an application that significantly matured over the last 12 months. The market for wireless delivery of high definition video promises to be large, with decisive consumer adoption once the technology is proven in end products.
• WiMAX is significant competition to alternative technologies in emerging markets.

The new report evaluated the market potential for emerging wireless technologies including WiMAX, IEEE 802.16m, LTE, Bluetooth, UWB, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.15.4, and ZigBee.

For related information, go to www.isa.org/networks.