Sales of certified WiFi sales are set to surpass the 10 billion unit mark this month, the Wi-Fi Alliance said, as it introduced a new tool designed to make it easier for consumers to locate WiFi-certified products. The organization said about 6.5 million Wi-Fi-Certified devices ship each day.
Timing the announcement with this week's International CES in Las Vegas, the Alliance said the tool, dubbed The Wi-Fi Certified Product Finder, shows products that meet the interoperability, security and tech benchmarks required to carry the Wi-Fi Certified logo.
The Wi-Fi Alliance said its industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10% for the next five years, noting that ABI Research indicates that roughly 9.98 billion WiFi devices had been sold worldwide by the end of 2014, and that about 4.5 billion WiFi products are in use today.
ABI also estimates that more than 2.3 billion WiFi devices were sold last year, with mobile phones, tablets and e-readers comprising 64% of total shipments.
WiFi has become a key component of cable’s service delivery arsenal. Members of the U.S. “Cable WiFi” roaming alliance (Comcast, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications) have deployed more than 300,000 hotspots so far. That number should continue to rise as those MSOs expand their buildouts and welcome new partners.
Charter Communications, for example, told Multichannel News late last year (subscription required) that it expects to join the roaming consortium as it rolls out its “Spectrum WiFi” network.
