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Home Networking Silicon Market to Grow Rapidly as Entertainment Networks Come to Life (19/11/2003)

According to In-Stat/MDR, the home networking silicon market is expected to grow from $650 million in 2002 to $1.07 billion 2003, driven by a confluence of both technology and end-user factors. On the technology side, the strong advances in wireless LAN technology, emergence of new physical layer communications protocols such as HomePlug and 1394b, and the continued emergence of ever-faster embedded communications processors have been driving the home network IC market for the last five years. On the end-user side, increased interest in broadband sharing and wireless LAN connections will continue the strong results in those markets.

However, looking forward, the high-tech market research firm believes that the emergence of media networks will drive the future growth of this market. "The next step in the home network is bridging the entertainment cluster," says Michael Wolf, Principal Analyst for Consumer Connectivity and Content. "Devices such as on-line gaming consoles, stereos and personal video recorders will eventually connect to networks, leading to a high demand for networking silicon in these end-use markets."

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

* Wireless LAN ICs are expected to be the biggest revenue opportunity in this market, hitting $409 million in 2007. The market will be the beneficiary of much higher adoption of wireless technology, but continue to fight rapidly dropping average selling prices, an affliction that will continue to impact all physical layer home networking solutions through 2007.

* Other LAN technologies such as HomePlug AV, 1394b and coax networking will have an opportunity to provide backbone connectivity for networked video devices, but will face increasing competition from ever-improving wireless networks. Technology advances such as MIMO signal processing are making wireless video networks increasingly feasible.

* Communications processors for home networking devices are expected to see strong demand in different products, reaching $277 million in 2007. The PHY market for home networking, incorporating Wi Fi, Ethernet, HomePlug, 1394b, HomePNA and Coax networking will reach $793 million by the same time.

The report, "A Chip In Every Pot: Home Networking IC Market Analysis" (#IN030661RC), examines the market for home networking silicon. It includes examinations of the key PHY and communications processor players as well as the different markets these vendors participate in. The report forecasts units and revenues for the different markets, and breaks them down by protocol type as well as by client or infrastructure. The analysis and forecasts are driven by In-Stat/MDR's industry leading knowledge and market coverage in the home connectivity, broadband and consumer convergence marketplaces.

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