Summary
WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E Market Outlook – 13 Billion Cumulative Devices Shipment by 2026
Introduction
Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the sixth generation of Wi-Fi with enhanced capabilities to effectively handle increasing traffic demands, capacity, coverage, and network intelligence. Wi-Fi 6 offers faster speeds for immersive-experience applications and IoT capacity for high-density venues such as malls, stadiums, educational institutes, and manufacturing facilities. Wi-Fi 6 also offers reduced latency, greater reliability, and improved power efficiency. Also, Wi-Fi 6E means Wi-Fi 6 Extended to the 6 GHz band. Wi-Fi 6E works with the same standard as Wi-Fi 6 but with an extended spectrum of 6 GHz ranging from 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz. Wi-Fi is facing a spectrum shortage as a result of increasing number of devices being used in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and the addition of 6GHz will help mitigate the shortage. Access to the 6 GHz frequency brings more bandwidth, faster speeds, and lower latency. Wi-Fi 6E can utilize up to 14 additional 80 MHz channels or 7 additional super-wide 160 MHz channels in 6 GHz for applications such as high-definition video streaming and virtual reality. Devices certified for Wi-Fi 6E provide the advanced features of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3 security to offer substantially greater overall Wi-Fi network performance in challenging environments with many connected devices such as stadiums, airports, and industrial parks.
It is expected that there will be more than 13 Billion cumulative devices shipment enabled with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E by 2026 with a growth rate of around ~26% between 2020 and 2026. Also, it is expected to have around 3.5 Billion devices just in 2026 with an annual opportunity worth $17.5 Billion. Increasing number of connected devices and high bandwidth applications such as high-resolution video streaming, gaming, AR/VR, and large media file transfers has resulted in demand for an efficient Wi-Fi network.
Key Drivers
High usage of applications which require greater bandwidth and lower latency such as video, telemedicine, and navigation systems has resulted in faster growth of internet traffic than the number of connections. In 2019, video accounted for nearly 61% of total downstream volume worldwide, followed by web traffic at 13.1%, gaming at 8.0%, social media at 6.1% and file sharing at 4.2%. Lockdowns round the world due to COVID-19 has led to global shift to remote work and online learning resulting significant change in internet usage pattern. COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected network usage around the world, with many operators experiencing 100% growth in traffic volume as usage shifts from enterprise and education networks to primarily consumer broadband networks.
Wi-Fi 6 advantages over previous generation in network speed, capacity and responsiveness to drive its adoption in smartphones. Wi-Fi 6 has data rates beyond 1gbps because of 1024-QAM modulation scheme and uplink resource scheduling mechanism. Wi-Fi 6 also enhances user experience in dense environments and address emerging high-bandwidth, low-latency use cases. Target Wake Time feature of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E is very effective in orchestrating network traffic and minimizing unnecessary chatter will significantly improve smartphone’s battery life. Wi-Fi 6 delivers higher speeds per user enabling more data-intensive applications including 4K UHD video streaming, real-time immersive gaming and mobile augmented reality (AR).
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Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market – Highlights
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• Public Wi-Fi hotspots is likely to reach 628 million by 2023 and it is expected that Wi-Fi6 hotspots will contribute nearly 11% of all public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2023. Major use cases of Wi-Fi6 hotspots include airports, public transportation, retail, healthcare, smart cities, and stadiums.
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• Smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6 & 6E to account for more than 90% of the total smartphone market in 2026. Currently, Wi-Fi 6 is mostly limited to premium smartphones. However, this trend is set to change as companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek are likely to come up with chipsets supporting W-Fi 6 more mid and low-end smartphones. Around 780 million smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6 & 6E are expected to be shipped in 2021. Apple, Asus, Honor, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, RealMe, Samsung, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE are some of the major smartphone manufacturers who have launched smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6. Qualcomm has announced several mobile platforms such as Snapdragon 865, 888, and 690 chipsets with Wi-Fi 6 capability.
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• More than 60 million Wi-Fi 6 & 6E chipsets are expected to be shipped for automobile by 2026. Wi-Fi 6 is expected to offer enhancements that are essential for a seamless wireless experience for the growing number of use cases both in a vehicle. The sensors used for autonomous driving generate a significant amount of data around 4TB per day that needs to be uploaded for processing and analysis. Major benefits of Wi-Fi 6 in a vehicle include less congestion, longer range, lower power with target wake time (TWT) to let the access point schedule, OFDM, MU-MIMO and 1024-QAM to increase throughput, improve the upload data rates by up-to 80% for networks with multiple users.
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• Gaming Devices supported by Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are expected to grow by 40% CAGR between 2020 and 2026. Sony Play Station 5 launched in August 2020 (supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity) is designed to improve speed, increase efficiency and reduce congestion in heavy bandwidth usage scenarios. A wired connection is considered to be ideal for gaming as it has low latency, reliable connection and low lag. 20 to 40 ms is considered to be optimum latency for gaming that can be provided by Wi-Fi 6. Other advantage of Wi-Fi 6 includes flexibility and support for a greater number of devices at the same time. Wi-Fi 6 increases throughput by up to 25% because of higher quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) resulting in more data transmitted per data packet.
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• Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market with nearly 50% share in 2026. Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in Asia Pacific is expected to reach USD 8,559 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 25.6% between 2020 and 2026. Consumer devices such as smartphone, tablets, laptops & PCs are expected to be major contributors. China, Japan, South Korea, and India are expected to be the major contributors of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in Asia Pacific. North America is expected to be second largest market with 25% share in 2026. US is expected to be contributor of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in North America. North America is expected to witness higher adoption of Wi-Fi 6 supporting CPEs followed by Europe during the forecast period.
Wi-Fi 6 vs 5G
Wi-Fi 6 and 5G have entered the market around the same time and both are technologically superior to their predecessors (4G LTE and Wi-Fi 5). Both the technologies are more energy-efficient, and capable of supporting a greater number of devices simultaneously. While Wi-Fi 6 will support indoor or local area deployments, 5G is more suited for applications that require highly reliable, low-latency connectivity and wide-area deployment. However, there is overlap in some areas such as a large event, hospitality, stadium, smart city projects, and large campuses may consider both the technologies.
Based on deployments of previous generations of cellular and Wi-Fi technology, it has been observed that cellular has been favourable for large-scale deployments, while Wi-Fi has been preferable for small-scale deployments. When professionally installed and managed, a sizeable Wi-Fi 5 deployment is on a par with a 4G deployment in terms of Total cost of ownership. However, OPEX is higher for Wi-Fi and CAPEX is higher for cellular. Wi-Fi will continue to be the preferred technology as it has a lower cost to deploy, maintain, and scale at home and business environments where access points serve a greater number of devices.
It is a really an interesting comparison between Wi-Fi 6 and 5G in this study to plan your future strategy for wireless connectivity, especially in public places.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be or Wi-Fi EHT)
Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the certification for Wi-Fi 6E, or Wi-Fi 6 Extended, which refers to the ability for Wi-Fi to leverage the 6 GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi operation. But When compared to Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7 will also use multi-band/multi-channel aggregation and operation and deliver higher spectrum and power efficiency, better interference mitigations, higher capacity density and higher cost efficiency. The seventh generation of Wi-Fi is also referred to as Wi-Fi Extremely High Throughput as result of its projected ability to support up to 30Gbps throughput, roughly three times faster than Wi-Fi 6. There are a number of proposed features for the Wi-Fi 7 standard, but direct enhancements over Wi-Fi 6 include support of 320 MHz transmissions, which is double the 160 MHz of 802.11ax, the use of higher modulation orders, optionally supporting 4096-QAM — up from 1024-QAM in 802.11ax — and the allocation of multiple resource units, such as groups of OFMDA tones.
50 Key Players: Profiled and Analyzed
1. Broadcom Inc.
2. Qualcomm
3. ON Semiconductor
4. Intel
5. NXP Semiconductors
6. Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
7. Qorvo
8. MediaTek
9. Celeno Communications
10. Nordic Semiconductor
11. Realtek Semiconductor
12. Huawei
13. Nokia
14. Samsung
15. Apple
16. Asus
17. NETGEAR
18. TP-Link
19. D-Link
20. Cisco
21. Linksys
22. Dell
23. Lenovo
24. HP
25. Sony
26. Acer
27. LG
28. Fujitsu
29. HPE – Aruba
30. CommScope
31. Extreme Networks
32. H3C Technologies
33. Juniper Networks
34. Cambium Networks
35. Ubiquiti
36. Calix
37. EnGenius Technologies
38. Fortinet
39. Verizon
40. Zyxel Communications
41. Xiaomi
42. DrayTek Corporation
43. Access Networks
44. Tenda
45. Arista Networks
46. Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
47. Belkin
48. Senscomm Semiconductor
49. Silicon Labs
50. Micro-Star INT'L CO., LTD
Key Questions to be answered through this study
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What is the market size and forecast of the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market?
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What are the driving factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market during the forecast period?
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Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market?
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What is the competitive strategic scenario for opportunities in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market?
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What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market?
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What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Wi-Fi Hotspot Market?
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction
1.1 Wi-Fi Evolution
1.2 Wi-Fi 6
1.3 Wi-Fi 6 Capabilities and Benefits
1.3.1 Wi-Fi 6 Capabilities by Frequency Band
1.3.2 Wi-Fi 6 Benefits in 6 GHz
1.4 Wi-Fi 6 Capabilities and Benefits
1.4.1 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)
1.4.2 Multi-user MIMO
1.4.3 Long Symbol Duration and Guard Interval
1.4.4 Dual Carrier Modulation (DCM)
1.4.5 Extended Range
1.4.6 Target Wait Time
1.4.7 Spatial Reuse
1.5 Wi-Fi 6E
1.5.1 Spectrum comparison
1.5.2 Spectrum allocation status
1.6 Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be or Wi-Fi EHT)
2 Wi-Fi 6E Regulatory Framework
2.1 Current Status and Condition (6GHz)
2.1.1 Countries enabling RLAN in 6GHz (1200 MHz vs 500 MHz)
2.1.2 Technical Conditions for 6 GHz
2.2 Regulatory Certification (6 GHz Devices)
2.2.1 US Certification
2.2.2 European Certification
2.2.3 ETSI Harmonised Standard EN 303 687
3 Key Drivers
3.1 Rapid growth in internet traffic
3.2 Growth in number of connected devices
3.3 Wi-Fi: Key to digital resilience
4 Wi-Fi 6 vs 5G – What to choose?
4.1 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G adoption trends
4.2 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G cost comparison
4.3 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G interoperability
4.4 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G for private networks
5 Wi-Fi 6 & 6E for IoT
5.1 IoT Wireless Technologies Comparison
5.2 Bandwidth and latency requirements
6 Use cases
6.1 Healthcare
6.2 Education
6.3 Stadiums and venues
6.4 Enterprise
6.5 Airports
6.6 Retail
6.7 Home
6.8 Industrial Manufacturing
7 Total Cost of Ownership
7.1 Airport
7.2 Factory
7.3 Port
7.4 Mining
7.5 Warehouse
8 Market Size, Shipment and Forecast by Devices
8.1 CPE
8.2 Smartphones
8.3 Tablets
8.4 Laptops & PCs
8.5 Computer Accessories
8.6 AR/VR Headsets
8.7 Wireless Camera
8.8 Gaming Devices
8.9 Smart Home Devices
8.10 Automobile
8.11 Mobile Robots
8.12 Drones
8.13 Wearables
8.14 Machine-to-Machine Communication
8.15 Others
9 Regional Market Analysis & Forecast
9.1 Drivers of connectivity maturity by country
9.2 Economic value of Wi-Fi by country
10 Competitive Landscape
10.1 Wi-Fi 6 Ecosystem
10.2 Value chain analysis
10.3 Patent analysis
10.4 Wi-Fi 6 & 6E chipset suppliers and Market Ranking
11 Company Profiles
11.1 Broadcom Inc.
11.1.1 Overview
11.1.2 Solutions offered
11.1.3 Key developments
11.2 Qualcomm
11.2.1 Overview
11.2.2 Solutions offered
11.2.3 Key developments
11.3 ON Semiconductor
11.3.1 Overview
11.3.2 Solutions offered
11.3.3 Key developments
11.4 Intel
11.4.1 Overview
11.4.2 Solutions offered
11.4.3 Key developments
11.5 NXP Semiconductors
11.5.1 Overview
11.5.2 Solutions offered
11.5.3 Key developments
11.6 Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
11.6.1 Overview
11.6.2 Solutions offered
11.6.3 Key developments
11.7 Qorvo
11.7.1 Overview
11.7.2 Solutions offered
11.7.3 Key developments
11.8 MediaTek
11.8.1 Overview
11.8.2 Solutions offered
11.8.3 Key developments
11.9 Celeno Communications
11.9.1 Overview
11.9.2 Solutions offered
11.9.3 Key developments
11.10 Nordic Semiconductor
11.10.1 Overview
11.10.2 Key developments
11.11 Realtek Semiconductor
11.11.1 Overview
11.11.2 Solutions offered
11.11.3 Key developments
11.12 Huawei
11.12.1 Overview
11.12.2 Solutions offered
11.12.3 Key developments
11.13 Nokia
11.13.1 Overview
11.13.2 Solutions offered
11.13.3 Key developments
11.14 Samsung
11.14.1 Overview
11.14.2 Solutions offered
11.14.3 Key developments
11.15 Apple
11.15.1 Overview
11.15.2 Solutions offered
11.15.3 Key developments
11.16 Asus
11.16.1 Overview
11.16.2 Solutions offered
11.16.3 Key developments
11.17 NETGEAR
11.17.1 Overview
11.17.2 Solutions offered
11.17.3 Key developments
11.18 TP-Link
11.18.1 Overview
11.18.2 Solutions offered
11.18.3 Key developments
11.19 D-Link
11.19.1 Overview
11.19.2 Solutions offered
11.19.3 Key developments
11.20 Cisco
11.20.1 Overview
11.20.2 Solutions offered
11.20.3 Key developments
11.21 Linksys
11.21.1 Overview
11.21.2 Solutions offered
11.21.3 Key developments
11.22 Dell
11.22.1 Overview
11.22.2 Solutions offered
11.23 Lenovo
11.23.1 Overview
11.23.2 Solutions offered
11.24 HP
11.24.1 Overview
11.24.2 Solutions offered
11.25 Sony
11.25.1 Overview
11.25.2 Solutions offered
11.26 Acer
11.26.1 Overview
11.26.2 Solutions offered
11.27 LG
11.27.1 Overview
11.27.2 Solutions offered
11.28 Fujitsu
11.28.1 Overview
11.28.2 Solutions offered
11.28.3 Key developments
11.29 HPE - Aruba
11.29.1 Overview
11.29.2 Solutions offered
11.29.3 Key developments
11.30 CommScope
11.30.1 Overview
11.30.2 Solutions offered
11.30.3 Key developments
11.31 Extreme Networks
11.31.1 Overview
11.31.2 Solutions offered
11.31.3 Key developments
11.32 H3C Technologies
11.32.1 Overview
11.32.2 Solutions offered
11.33 Juniper Networks
11.33.1 Overview
11.33.2 Solutions offered
11.33.3 Key developments
11.34 Cambium Networks
11.34.1 Overview
11.34.2 Solutions offered
11.34.3 Key developments
11.35 Ubiquiti
11.35.1 Overview
11.35.2 Solutions offered
11.35.3 Key developments
11.36 Calix
11.36.1 Overview
11.36.2 Solutions offered
11.36.3 Key developments
11.37 EnGenius Technologies
11.37.1 Overview
11.37.2 Solutions offered
11.37.3 Key developments
11.38 Fortinet
11.38.1 Overview
11.38.2 Solutions offered
11.39 Verizon
11.39.1 Overview
11.39.2 Solutions offered
11.40 Zyxel Communications
11.40.1 Overview
11.40.2 Solutions offered
11.40.3 Key developments
11.41 Xiaomi
11.41.1 Overview
11.41.2 Solutions offered
11.42 DrayTek Corporation
11.42.1 Overview
11.42.2 Solutions offered
11.42.3 Key developments
11.43 Access Networks
11.43.1 Overview
11.43.2 Solutions offered
11.43.3 Key developments
11.44 Tenda
11.44.1 Overview
11.44.2 Solutions offered
11.45 Arista Networks
11.45.1 Overview
11.45.2 Solutions offered
11.45.3 Key developments
11.46 Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
11.46.1 Overview
11.46.2 Solutions offered
11.46.3 Key developments
11.47 Belkin
11.47.1 Overview
11.47.2 Solutions offered
11.48 Senscomm Semiconductor
11.48.1 Overview
11.48.2 Key developments
11.49 Silicon Labs
11.49.1 Overview
11.49.2 Key developments
11.50 Micro-Star INT'L CO., LTD
11.50.1 Overview
11.50.2 Solutions offered
