The RF Power Semiconductor Device Market below 4 GHz is composed of six
major segments, as defined in a recent report by ABI Research. These
segments are wireless infrastructure, military, ISM
(Industrial/Scientific/Medical), broadcast, commercial avionics, and
non-cellular communications, with each segment branching out into
smaller niches to permit highly specific forecasts for the market.
“Wireless infrastructure represents the largest segment for RF
power semiconductors, and it contains the largest sub-segment:
cellular/3G,” says research director Lance Wilson. “But
cellular/3G is in a sense a long-term market anomaly that is now in a
decline which will continue steadily over the next five years.”
More efficient air interfaces, coupled with Average Selling Price
erosion and the build-out of the infrastructure base, are what drive
this sub-segment downward from a revenue standpoint. On the device
side, wide-scale adoption of plastic packages diminishes revenue as
well; and over the 2007—2012 forecast period, revenues for the
cellular/3G sub-segment will decline at a compound annual growth rate
of nearly 8%.
“WiMAX, another sub-segment within wireless infrastructure,
remains controversial,” explains Wilson. “Although fixed
WiMAX is deploying, mobile WiMAX (802.16e) is in a state of flux from a
high-power standpoint. There is a potential large upside to mobile
WiMAX, but there are no guarantees that this will actually occur in a
wide sense.
“In spite of this possibility, the overall wireless
infrastructure segment will decline by a compound annual growth rate of
2% over the 2007—2012 forecast period.”
Overall, the entire marketplace will exhibit a five-year growth rate of
only 2.9% – illustrating the effect of Cellular/3G’s
decline. However, the remaining major segments show a healthy compound
annual growth rate over the forecast period of 9.5%, with the military
and ISM segments leading the pack.
The recent study, RF Power Semiconductor Devices, offers five-year,
detailed forecasts for all major market segments and sub-segments,
along with market share data for major industry vendors and
technologies. It forms part of two ABI Research Services: the RF Power
Devices Research Service and the Wireless Semiconductors Research
Service.
ABI Research is a leading market research firm focused on the impact
of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets.
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expert assessment from its worldwide team of industry analysts, ABI
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growth initiatives. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com.