According to a study by Coda Research Consultancy, Wi-Fi enabled mobile handset penetration will grow at a 25% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2015, reaching 149 million units. Also, U.S. shipments will grow at a 22% CAGR through 2015. Coda attributes must of this growth to smart-phone penetration.

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The variety of available high-bandwidth applications, powerful processors, better battery technologies, increased Internet functionality, and multitasking capabilities will mean significant increases in smart-phone behavior. Coda says that Wi-Fi integration, superior and more reliable speeds, growth in Wi-Fi hotspots, and carriers embracing Wi-Fi all will drive the escalation in Wi-Fi enabled handset shipments and usage.

Further, Coda says, Wi-Fi enabled mobile handsets will account for 66% of all mobile handset shipments in the U.S. in 2015. Smart phones will dominate devices used in Wi-Fi hotspots, with two-thirds of all Wi-Fi hotspot connections via smart phones in 2015. And in spite of the current slow rollout of 802.11n capability in smart phones, 95% of Wi-Fi capable smart phones will use this version of the Wi-Fi standard by 2015.

Coda’s full report, “Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone handsets in the US, 2010-2015,” is now available at www.codarc.co.uk/wificellular for $2995.

Coda Research Consultancy