According to MIC (Market Intelligence Center), an ICT industry research institute based in Taipei, the Taiwanese WLAN industry's WLAN NIC (Network Interface Card) shipment volume is expected to hit 40.62 million units in the fourth quarter of 2006, representing year-on-year growth of 16.4%. The industry's AP (Access Point) shipment volume is expected to reach 1.36 million units, for a year-on-year decline of 10.1%.

After going through a transitional period in the first half, the global notebook PC market scored large-scale growth in the third quarter. In addition to the rollout of Intel's new Santa Rosa platform in the first quarter of 2007 and the launch of Microsoft's Vista operating system, this will stimulate global notebook PC shipment growth, as well as shipment growth of WLAN NICs used in notebook PCs. Also, the branded retailers Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, and Belkin rolled out Draft n-compatible products in the second quarter, but sales of the products failed to live up to expectations in the third quarter. However, with the advent of the Christmas season, major branded vendors such as D-Link have started to push Draft n products, increasing SOHO router and NIC shipment volume. In the consumer market, thanks to promotion by Western European operators such as T-mobile and BT, dual-mode phone shipment volume is expected to see strong growth. In addition, new products such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and digital cameras equipped with Wi-Fi will hit the market.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2007, Intel's new platform will spark a wave of new replacement demand in the notebook PC market, stimulating Wi-Fi module shipment. Furthermore, following its debut in North America and Japan, Sony's PlayStation 3 will hit the European market in the first quarter of 2007, which will also boost Wi-Fi module shipment. Thanks to promotion by major mobile phone vendors such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung, dual-mode phones with built-in Wi-Fi modules are expected to see significant growth.

In the third quarter of 2006, Taiwanese WLAN NIC shipment volume reached 34.4 million units, representing 18% year-on-year growth. Taiwanese AP shipment volume amounted to 1.25 million units. NIC shipment value reached approximately US$430.3 million in the third quarter, while Taiwanese AP shipment value reached US$43.3 million.

After having experienced the doldrums of the first half of 2006, global notebook PC shipment leapt 21% in the third quarter to approximately 19.2 million units. In addition, shipment share of models with built-in Wi-Fi exceeded 90% and that of models with the Napa platform topped 40%, greatly boosting shipment of modules for notebook PCs in the third quarter.

Shipment of Wi-Fi DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) scored slight growth, with share of models with built-in Wi-Fi rising to 56%. However, since many IADs (Integrated Access Device) used chip-on-board solutions and wireless DSL routers also embraced chip-on-board solutions on a relatively large scale in the third quarter, shipment of DSL Wi-Fi modules was affected. PSP (PlayStation Portable) shipment fell in the third quarter, and over 80% of shipments use chip-on-board solutions, affecting CF (Compact Flash) network card shipment.

Furthermore, shipment volume of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) phones with built-in Wi-Fi rose further, and makers switched the Wi-Fi interface from chip-on-board to SDIO (Secure Digital I/O) cards, stimulating SDIO network card shipment volume. Affected by a shift to wireless routers in the SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) market and a small amount of orders from clients in the enterprise market, AP (Access Point) shipment volume dropped slightly.

More information can be found in the following MIC report.  The Taiwanese WLAN Industry, 4Q 2006

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