In-Stat forecasts that the impact of the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology standard (developed to provide Gigabit speeds) will push shipments of 802.11ac-enabled devices from 0 in 2011 to nearly 1 billion by 2015.

“The goal of 802.11ac is to provide data speeds much faster than 802.11n, with speeds of around 1Gbps,” says Frank Dickson, Vice President of Research.

Some of the research findings include:

• Mobile devices with Wi-Fi will still dominate shipments.  In 2015, shipments of mobile phones with embedded Wi-Fi are projected to approach 800 million.
• By 2015, In-Stat projects that 100% of mobile hotspot shipments will be 802.11ac-enabled.
• E-readers Wi-Fi attach rates will increase from 3% in 2009 to 90% by 2015.
• In 2012, Wi-Fi automotive shipments will reach nearly 20 million.