Wireless LAN/WiMAX Report

A release on a new report for your reading pleasure....

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New Wireless LAN Report Chronicles Major Technology Changes and the Effect of WiMAX as Sales Continue to Climb

Forward Concepts has announced the publication of a new in-depth study of the WLAN and WiMAX equipment and chip markets.

The new report, "Beyond Wi-Fi: 802.11n, VoWi-Fi & WiMAX" provides a comprehensive analysis of worldwide equipment and chip markets. The report also profiles the ODMs, OEMs and chip vendors serving these markets.

Based on product reviews and interviews with numerous companies involved in the WLAN and WiMAX markets, the report provides detailed forecasts through

2009 of all market segments, including Access Points (APs) and base stations (WiMAX), Network Interface Cards (NICs), Wireless Router Gateways (WRGs), and the chipsets enabling the entire WLAN and WiMAX networks.

Units, average selling prices (ASPs), and total revenue are forecast for every market segment.

The author of the report, Carter L. Horney, pointed out, "The growing WLAN market is a classic example of how a market can continue to expand as costs and prices ride down the learning curve, opening up new applications and market opportunities. Specifically, in spite of a predicted 23% average selling price drop, worldwide shipments of WLAN equipment products will increase 6% to the $5.2 billion level in 2005." The report also predicts that WLAN equipment will continue growing at a higher rate in 2006 to the

$5.9 billion level as new IEEE 802.11n and VoWi-Fi equipment is introduced and the infrastructure for traditional Wi-Fi expands.

In the report, the WiMAX and pre-WiMAX equipment market (including both 802.16d and 802.16e) is forecast to grow from $72 million in 2005 to just over $2 billion in 2009, for an annual compound growth rate of 130%. Mr.

Horney went on to say, "We view WiMAX as complementary to both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular. Fixed 802.16d systems can provide backbones for Wi-Fi hotspots where DSL or cable is unavailable or impractical. When emerging 802.16e provides a mobility WiMAX capability, it will augment the Wi-Fi infrastructure that will remain dominant for several years."

Early views were that mobile WiMAX would be a threat to 3G, but now cellular equipment vendors such as Nokia are saying that WIMAX will be complementary. Preliminary analyses indicate that 802.16e data delivery costs can be significantly cheaper per megabyte than HSDPA or 1xEV-DO when provided as an overlay to a cellular network.

Pure WiMAX chipsets, beginning with 802.16d-compliant fixed-operation units, are beginning to ship in 2005 for estimated revenues of $5.4 million. However, mobility-capable 802.16e chipsets will begin sampling next year and the combined chip market is forecast to grow at a 209% compound annual growth rate to $489 million in 2009.

In addition, the report includes WLAN profiles of all major equipment providers, including Taiwan ODMs. Profiles of chip vendors for both WLAN and WiMAX are provided for baseband/PHY and MAC suppliers as well as those of RF and power amplifier chips. Uniquely, the report not only provides details of chip vendor market shares for each chip class, but also indicates which chip vendor's products are shipping to what equipment vendors, and which equipments are re-branded and sold under other vendor's names.

The report also discusses many new markets enabled by WLAN technology, including VoWi-Fi phones and the growth of converged WLAN/cellphones and Home Multimedia TV Networks. And it also forecasts the embedded WLAN markets for those applications, along with Notebooks, PDAs, security cameras, and much more.

The 392-page report, "Beyond Wi-Fi: 802.11n, VoWi-Fi & WiMAX" includes 82 figures and 49 in-depth tables and is priced at $3,650 in North America. A global enterprise license for the electronic version is priced at $7,300.

Details of the report and ordering information is available on the company's website at