Insatiable demand for wireless networking technology from both consumers and business has helped push up annual unit sales of Wi-Fi equipment to more than 100m chipsets in six years, according to newly published data.

The data, released by analyst firm In-Stat and the Wi-Fi Alliance, estimates that Wi-Fi device shipments are enjoying an "explosive" 64 per cent average yearly growth rate.

"Wi-Fi has already crossed the 100m unit sales mark for 2005, and we forecast shipments of approximately 120m chipsets this year," said Gemma Tedesco, senior analyst at In-Stat.

"This is a significant milestone for such a young technology, and the Wi-Fi Alliance has played a strong role in helping Wi-Fi gain traction."

The Wi-Fi Alliance, which coined the term Wi-Fi, provides testing and certification programs to ensure the interoperability of products based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. More than 2,200 products have been Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) since March 2000.

"Wi-Fi has truly come of age," said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
"Today more than 90 per cent of notebook computers are Wi-Fi enabled, and as we look ahead, there are seemingly limitless opportunities due to the insatiable consumer and enterprise demand for the technology. We expect the next milestones will come even faster as Wi-Fi becomes integrated into consumer electronics and mobile handsets."

"Customers embrace new technology when they are confident that what they buy will work together and they won't be stranded," added Tedesco.

"The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED program is instrumental in ensuring that products interoperate. Because of certification, early customers had a positive experience with Wi-Fi technology and the momentum continued from there."