Wi-Fi flies high with mobile and console possibilities

Wi-Fi gear is selling like hot cakes, analysts have found - and the good times for short range wireless could be set to last a while longer with mobile convergence making its way from 'nice idea' to IT reality.

Research firm Infonetics has found that between the last quarter of last year and Q1 of this year, revenue from WLAN equipment rose 20 per cent as sales grew to an all time high of 12.2 million units shipped.

The upward trend has not run its course yet, Infonetics said, predicting revenue will reach $3.6bn by 2008.

Wireless routers, the research found, are the flavour of the day, with small businesses and consumers using WLAN technology as they increasingly switch to broadband internet access. Around six million routers are expected to be sold this quarter.

Infonetics found that SOHOs (small office/home office) and consumers account for just over half of WLAN revenue, with businesses and service providers taking the rest.

Separate research from fellow analyst house IDC also believes there's a bright future in store for WLAN technology, despite various predictions of the death of Wi-Fi.

IDC predicts revenue from WLAN chips will grow from $1.2bn last year to $3bn in 2009, as new opportunities arise - based around mobile devices and consumer electronics such as set-top boxes, digital TVs and games consoles.

In order to drive adoption skyward, IDC advises that chipmakers throw their weight behind supporting quality-of-service features, such as prioritising key data.