802.11 & Other High Speed Wireless

IMS Research looks ahead to the good, the bad and the ugly within the wireless industry for 2012.

60GHz is the ultimate wireless dream. Many in the industry are excited about the concept of a suitable high-speed technology wirelessly enabling a wide variety of electronic devices. The target is to completely eliminate the use of cables in the home, enterprise and public spaces.

The Cisco ISB7005 for AT&T U-Verse cleared the FCC today. This is the first set-top box that IMS Research has observed beyond those from the Turkish company AirTies that is designed to receive pay-TV over a Wi-Fi interface.

Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were previously seen as complementary technologies. However, the development of Bluetooth high speed and Wi-Fi Direct could bring the technologies head-to-head for the first time in certain applications. IMS Research asks: is there room for both in specific devices? And will one technology eventually become the long-term winner?

Wireless combination IC shipments are forecast to grow by almost 24% in 2011, according to IMS Research’s latest report The World Market for Wireless Combination ICs - 2011.

The vast majority of the growth is due to just two applications, smartphones and tablet PCs; and one particular combination IC, Bluetooth/FM/WLAN.

CSR are certainly not letting the current economic climate hold them back; today's announced merger with SiRF highlights their unrelenting effort to be number 1.

IMS Research today announced the launch of its new Strategic Market Assessment (SMA) service, which will form the cornerstone of the company’s continued expansion into strategic consulting. SMA will provide clients with objective, detailed and clear recommendations for the best markets to focus on to achieve profitable business growth.

The number of devices that can connect to the Internet is forecast to increase to 9.6 billion by the end of 2012 according to IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS). The company, which tracks the installed base of Internet capable equipment, believes that the third wave of connected device growth is accelerating, and this will drive further growth in the connected device market, leading to its forecast of 28 billion internet connected devices by the end of 2020.

In an increasingly competitive environment, the introduction and evolution of high-speed wireless technologies in notebook PCs has been a logical step. The desire to connect notebooks to peripheral devices has led manufacturers to actively look at high-speed technologies as a market-proven solution for these needs. With

® attach rates nearing significant numbers, and 802.11 already prevalent, notebook manufacturers are looking to more advanced connectivity solutions to differentiate products, and to cater for the ever increasing needs of faster speeds.

Samsung’s acquisition of part of CSR has established it as a new player in the connectivity market, specifically in the key battleground of the smartphone. Whilst Broadcom has been growing its market share in this sector since 2008, according to IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS)) this acquisition introduces a significant threat to its market-leading business of Bluetooth in handsets.

Wireless in-vehicle technologies remain an area of intense interest for many in the automotive industry. Filomena Berardi, Market Analyst and author of the IMS Research report, "The Wireless Car", gives her thoughts on some of the wireless technologies contending in this space.

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