Underpinning a New Era of Standardized Wireless PANs, 802.15.4 Is Set for Strong Growth, According to ABI Research

LONDON--(Business Wire)--
The market for IEEE 802.15.4 semiconductors, in both consumer electronics and
commercial markets, is set for significant growth over the next five years as
the standard becomes the foundation for a host of applications and systems.

That growth will see 802.15.4 chipset shipments grow from nearly 15 million in
2008 to nearly 499 million in 2014 -- a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of
79.6% over the period.

"Vendors across a range of industry verticals and applications are taking
advantage of the availability of standardized 802.15.4 semiconductors to build
their own proprietary and increasingly standardized equipment and systems," says
ABI Research principal analyst Jonathan Collins. The firm has just released a
new study examining the potential for 802.15.4 semiconductors.

To date, the 802.15.4 market has grown steadily, based on proprietary
point-to-point solutions and some ZigBee-based AMI infrastructure trials. Now
802.15.4 is also set to underpin a new generation of consumer electronics remote
control solutions, developed by the RF4CE Consortium and recently rolled into
the ZigBee Alliance. In addition, AMI trials and a growing interest in smart
energy and utility management heralds a move towards full-scale smart energy
solution rollouts.

While 802.15.4 will help drive broader standardization, the low-level nature of
the physical and MAC layer specification will continue to provide a lower cost
building block for many proprietary applications that can be hosted on 802.15.4
silicon. In fact while industry standard adoption will foster significant
growth, proprietary markets will continue to account for the bulk of the market
through 2014 although their dominance will recede greatly over the period.

"The 802.15.4 Chipset Market"
(http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1001990-The_802.15.4_Chipset_Market)
provides insight into the 802.15.4 IC market dynamics and opportunities, and
includes forecast data for unit shipments, average selling prices, and revenue
to 2013. Additionally, it highlights the leading early adopter vertical markets,
and forecasts 802.15.4 adoption among several different wireless sensor network
verticals.

It is part of two ABI Research Services, M2M
(http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/M2M_Research_Service) and
Short-Range Wireless
(http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Short_Range_Wireless_Research_Service),
which also include other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, ABI
Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging
trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia,
ABI Research`s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers
through research and advisory services in seven key practice areas. Est. 1990.
For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

ABI Research
Christine Gallen, +44.203.326.0142
pr@abiresearch.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009