More than 120 Million Wi-Fi Chipsets Shipped in 2005

Austin, TX, November 28, 2005 Wi-Fi technology has seen its annual unit sales grow to more than 100 million chipsets in six years, according to new data released by In-Stat and the Wi-Fi Alliance, and its now a staple of computer networking and a powerful presence in millions of homes and businesses. The 100 million chipset milestone was quickly passed and the explosive 64% average yearly growth rate reflects the transforming nature of Wi-Fi and the value of interoperable, standards-based technology.

 

Wi-Fi has already crossed the 100M unit sales mark for 2005, and we forecast shipments of approximately 120 million chipsets this year, said Gemma Tedesco, Senior Analyst at In-Stat. This is a significant milestone for such a young technology, and the Wi-Fi Alliance has played a strong role in helping Wi-Fi gain traction.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, which coined the term Wi-Fi, provides testing and certification programs to ensure the interoperability of products based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. More than 2,200 products have been Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ since March 2000.

Wi-Fi has truly come of age, said Frank Hanzlik, Managing Director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Today more than 90% of notebook computers are Wi-Fi enabled, and as we look ahead, there are seemingly limitless opportunities, due to the insatiable consumer and enterprise demand for the technology. We expect the next milestones will come even faster as Wi-Fi becomes integrated into consumer electronics and mobile handsets and more people around the world experience the benefits of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products.

Customers embrace new technology when they are confident that what they buy will work together and they wont be stranded, said Tedesco. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program is instrumental in ensuring that products interoperate. Because of certification, early customers had a positive experience with Wi-Fi technology and the momentum continued from there.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 200 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliances testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliances certification program in March 2000, more than 2,200 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets. For more information, please visit www.wi-fi.org.

For more information, contact:Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance: Michael Diamond, michael.diamond@edelman.com, 650-429-2772.