WiFi is Pushing RF ICs to New Heights

Strategy Analytics states that vendors will ship $4 billion in Wi-Fi radio chips in 2013, most of these for cellphones, notebooks, netbooks, infrastructure, home entertainment systems and wireless gaming consoles. At the same time, adoption of 802.11n MIMO with multiple transmit streams will help boost the market for Wi-Fi power amplifier modules to twice its 2008 size, despite continued pricing pressure.

They have determined that Broadcom will probably remain on top, but the firm faces increasing competition from cellular chip vendors bundling connectivity with their platforms, and from chip specialists targeting emerging applications, such as Wi-Fi for home entertainment. In RF power amplifiers, SiGe Semiconductor has established a firm lead despite increasing competition from GaAs PA module specialists Skyworks, RFMD, TriQuint and Anadigics.

WiFi is becoming pervasive now and soon you won't be able to buy a phone, camera, printer, TV or PC that does not come with it. Remember when only the new and more expensive phones and PCs had cameras? Now you can hardly find them without one. That will be WiFi soon in consumer electronics.