WLAN Draft N Devices More than Doubled in 2008; but Technology Options May Confuse Consumer

By: By Victoria Fodale, Senior Analyst, In-Stat
( 1 May 2009 )

Despite widespread declines in most technology markets in 2008, revenue and shipments for draft 11n devices more than doubled in 2008. According to In-Stat’s quarterly WLAN Tracker, revenue for draft n AP devices grew by 137.1 percent, and shipments grew by 155.1 percent from 2007 to 2008. In-Stat includes shipments of standalone APs, wireless routers, and gateways in the AP device category.
To date, most draft n shipments have been two-stream, 40MHz-capable devices. Higher-end devices may be capable of supporting up to four data streams. At the lower end, newly launched, single-stream Wi-Fi chipsets are targeting price sensitive and power limited categories like netbooks, printers, and mobile phones.

Unlike previous generations of Wi-Fi technology, 802.11n provides for a variety of optional configurations that give OEMs the flexibility to enhance, or tune, capabilities for a variety of devices and price points. The number of data streams is becoming a way to differentiate 802.11n devices with multiple tiers of performance.

However, to date, all draft n devices are certified without distinction. There is no indication about the number of data streams and the expected performance. The onus is currently on the consumer to understand the technology options and the performance trade-offs, not really a reasonable expectation for a mainstream market. The industry had best be prepared to address this challenge or risk disappointing customers.