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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
802.11 – To Infinity and Beyond
802.11 is commonly associated with PCs and networking. In fact according to IMS Research, in 2010 over 90 million home networking devices and over 300 million portable PCs (notebook, netbooks and tablets) were shipped with 802.11. However, upcoming standards such as 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11aa, 802.11ah, 802.11p, 802.11u, and 802.11f (to name but a few!) could mean that 802.11 can finally move beyond familiar sectors (networking and PCs) and branch out into a number of new vertical markets.
Further, the emergence of new technologies like Wi-Fi Direct, Low-Power Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi in White Spaces, will enable Wi-Fi to make peer-to-peer connections, to communicate over long distances, and to conserve power. This will make it potentially attractive in automotive, automation, aviation, consumer devices, office equipment, home appliance, medical, security, and retail user sectors.
This means the sky really is the limit for 802.11; the total available market of some of these markets is vast. For example, IMS Research estimated that in 2010 over 63 million new cars, 80,000 health hubs, 11 million POS (point-of-sale) terminals, and over 150 million suitable industrial products, were shipped.
Filomena Berardi, Senior Market Analyst at IMS Research and lead analyst for 802.11 and WLAN said; “There is so much going on regarding 802.11 and Wi-Fi at the moment. Blink and you might miss an announcement. This is all really positive; if an industry gets too comfortable and sits still there is a lack of innovation and in many cases this has caused a technology to stagnate and eventually die, or a new industry to supplant it.”
Berardi added; “For 802.11ac, we have predicted a very fast transition from 802.11n in specific applications like notebooks and game consoles. By 2016, we predict that over 40% of all new notebooks will be fitted with 802.11ac. In addition, the electronics industry is very positive to Wi-Fi Direct and we believe that this will enable Wi-Fi to target a broader range of products.”
She went on further to say; “With 802.11ad (WiGig) we can see value in the technology and envision that tri-band solutions will drive many of the key use-cases. As for Low-Power Wi-Fi, we believe that by 2016, over 30 million devices will be enabled with the standard and that it could add a lot of value to residential automation, building automation, and consumer applications.”
“Many in the industry are playing close attention to upcoming standards like 802.11aa, 802.11u and 802.11f, which will diversify the technology further. In the case of more ground-breaking standards like 802.11af (Wi-Fi in White Spaces), we take the view that initial trials, such as those current in Cambridge UK, will determine everything”.
The wealth of upcoming developments is blowing away the bounds on 802.11. Even if some of the new concepts fall to earth, IMS Research believes some will fly, and far.
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