Frost & Sullivan reports that the market for fixed wireless equipment will leap from $0.01 billion in 2001 to $4.75 billion in 2005, at which point 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz will be in serious competition.

by ISP-Planet Staff [May 4, 2001]

A new report from Frost & Sullivan, "The Global Market for 5GHz Wireless Technology," says that the market for fixed wireless equipment (2.4 GHz plus 5GHz equipment) will will leap from $0.01 billion in 2001 to $4.75 billion in 2005.

The report predicts that increasing miniaturisation of 5GHz silicon technology, plummeting costs, lower power consumption, and wider availability, will help the market to gradually become more established, and eventually enter the mainstream.

As indicated in the chart to the left, by 2005, the report predicts that 5 GHz equipment will be competing with 2.4 GHz equipment, although the latter will retain its market lead.

Jan ten Sythoff, Programme Manager at Frost & Sullivan noted that regulation is holding back the 5 GHz market. "There are different regulations governing 5 GHz technology in different parts of the world," he explains, "and consequently, inconsistent standards have been introduced to accommodate these rules. The lack of standardisation will continue to inhibit growth in the 5GHz space."

5 GHz technology is also strongly backed by a number of globally-influential corporate behemoths (such as Cisco, Intel, Ericsson and NTT East) from different parts of the value chain.

The report concludes by noting that if 3G technology is deployed, 5 GHz technology will benefit from the new opportunities for wireless LANs the 3G technology will enable.

As to other wireless technologies, the report is not optimistic about Home RF. However, internetnews.com reported on May 3, 2001 that a new standard, HomeRF 2.0, will increase the speed of Home RF to within 10 percent of the speed of Wi-Fi. Home RF 2.0 is supported by a number of companies, including Compaq, Intel, Motorola, Proxim and Siemens. Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, 3Com, Lucent Technologies sell products that support the Wi-Fi wireless standard.

The study is optimistic about Bluetooth, and predicts shipments of Bluetooth-embedded products to shoot up from its current level of 11 million to 600 million units in 2005.

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