Manufacturers will begin shipping ultra-wideband (UWB) chipsets this year and shipments are expected to ramp up with a total of 289 million chipsets shipping in 2010, predict analysts at In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz.

PCs will be the initial and largest volume market for UWB wireless chipsets, with PC vendors shipping more than 125 million desktop and laptop PCs with UWB capability by 2010 In-Stat says in the report “Ultrawideband: The Calm Before the Norm” (#IN0601964RC).

“The personal area network (PAN) has been waiting for a wireless solution to complement the established wired applications,” says Chris Kissel, In-Stat analyst. “This nascent technology is necessary to transmit large data files found in computers or in consumer electronics applications. UWB allows consumers to get rid of their rats’ nests of wires in the living room or near their PC.”

In-Stat analysts also found that UWB chipsets will first start appearing in wireless USB dongles in late 2006. From there, the usage will start to show up as PCMCIA cards that go into the PC motherboard. The last form factor to see widespread adoption of UWB, analysts say, will be cell phones.

The research contains market penetration forecasts in several categories for UWB chipsets through 2010. It also updates the status of regulatory boards in all parts of the world pertaining to UWB, analyzes market inhibitors and enablers, and discusses which vendors will be targeting which applications.

This research is part of In-Stat’s Residential Connectivity Service, which examines all the clusters of the connected home and how they will connect from an equipment, silicon, services, and applications perspective. This service guides all individuals interested in areas such as wired and wireless home network hardware, entertainment networking, consumer network storage, home automation, home network silicon, and residential gateways.

For more information contact In-Stat online at www.in-stat.com.