Report: 802.15.4 Market Could Grow 200% By 2009

Scottsdale, AZ -- The market for 802.15.4, a wireless personal area networking (PAN) technology and the ZigBee specification network layer, is poised for skyrocketing growth, reports In-Stat. On an aggressive basis, 802.15.4 nodes/chipsets could grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 200% from 2004 to 2009, the high-tech market research firm forecasts, with annual shipments surpassing 150 million units in 2009.

"In December 2004, the ZigBee Alliance completed a major milestone -- final signoff of the ZigBee 1.0 specification [see related story]. Even considering proprietary competition, the promise of many benefits of 802.15.4 and ZigBee standardization still hold true. Although standardization takes longer, a major advantage of 802.15.4 and ZigBee offers OEMs a menu of multiple silicon sources and ZigBee networking layer suppliers," Joyce Putscher, In-Stat research director and principal analyst, said. "Additional advantages include pricing competition and system vendor partnering opportunities."

A recent report by In-Stat found the following:

• This low-cost, low-power, low-data-rate networking technology is receiving attention from many companies that are involved in industrial control, home automation, and commercial building control, spanning everything from nuclear power plants to hotels. The first residential products are just barely emerging on the scene.
  
• Commercial building control is expected to capture the lion's share of the 802.15.4 market, in terms of node/chipset volumes, but not design wins.
  
• Together, system-in package (SiP) and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions will drive easier system/product development and lower the costs of adding this wireless capability to sensor networks.

The report, "802.15.4 SoC & SiP Surge as ZigBee Faces Residential Competition", covers the worldwide 802.15.4 market. It presents conservative and aggressive forecast scenarios for unit shipments, bill of materials average sales price, and revenue for chipsets. It also includes profiles of leading vendors.

Source: In-Stat