Wi-Fi Phone Market Projected To More Than Double In 2006




Wi-Fi Phone Market Jumps 76% to $102.5M in 2005, Will Double in 2006

LONDON -/February 1, 2006 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- The worldwide Wi-Fi phone market jumped 76% between 2004 and 2005 to $102.5 million, and is projected to more than double in 2006 as enterprises slowly but steadily continue deploying voice over wireless LANs, according to Infonetics Research's latest report, WiFi Phones Biannual Worldwide Market Share and Forecast.

Healthy VoWLAN growth is projected through 2009, when Wi-Fi phone revenue will hit almost $1.9 billion. Initially an enterprise application, VoWLAN will eventually become popular with consumers too, and has potential for enormous growth as part of a VoIP service bundled with broadband connections.

"The enterprise telephony market is undergoing a transition from circuit-based to packet switching, because organizations have extensive data networks that can potentially be used for telephony, eliminating the need for separate voice and data networks," said Richard Webb, analyst for wireless broadband at Infonetics Research. "Voice makes wireless LANs more desirable and mobility makes VoIP more valuable; it is natural that they are converging into a powerful enterprise mobile voice solution."


Highlights

-- Wi-Fi phone units grew 112% between 2004 and 2005 and will grow 158% in 2006

-- Roughly 2/3 of Wi-Fi phone revenue came from single-mode Wi-Fi VoIP handsets in 2005, about a third from dual-mode handsets; by 2009, dual-mode handsets make up 3/4 of total revenue

-- 52% of dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular handset revenue came from Asia Pacific in 2005, 25% from North America, 21% EMEA, 2% CALA

-- 802.11e QoS was standardized in late 2005, and will generate a new round of product releases and renewed promotion of real-time applications such as voice and video over wireless LANs



Infonetics' report tracks Wi-Fi VoIP handsets and dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular handsets, providing 2005 market size totals, annual revenue and unit forecasts through 2009, market share for Wi-Fi VoIP handsets, and analysis of the Wi-Fi phone market for all regions.

For sample data, log on to http://www.info.infonetics.com. For sales, contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or +1 (408) 583-3335.

Infonetics Research (http://www.infonetics.com) is the premier market research and consulting firm specializing in data networking and telecom. Services include quarterly market share and forecasting, end-user and service provider survey research, and service provider capex analysis.