Bluetooth semiconductor market making solid progress.

According to a new report from In-Stat/MDR (Scottsdale, AZ, www.instat.com), the Bluetooth semiconductor market has made solid progress in spite of economic ups and downs, The final 2002 worldwide chipset shipments were 35.8 million units, resulting in 245% growth over 2001. As the market's size grows and matures, the growth rates will naturally decrease, resulting in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 74% from 2002 to 2007.

Mobile handsets will remain a major driving force for Bluetooth. Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones have grown significantly, especially for embedded models. When the worldwide average cost for Bluetooth solutions dipped below $I0, many more models entered the market offering Bluetooth connectivity. With the assumption that cost will prevent a complete conversion for all phones to Bluetooth in the near term, In-Stat/MDR believes that the uptake rate will significantly rise as the solution cost declines.

The company's research shows that many European and Asian operators see personal mobile gateways (PMGs) as an opportunity to increase average revenue per unit (ARPU) that offer other means for service differentiation. Demand for PMG products and associated capabilities and services could provide another driver for Bluetooth-enabled products, PMG adds an application layer on top of the Bluetooth physical connection and existing profiles. Several PMG equipment models are expected by the end of 2003, as are thin accessory devices. In-Stat/MDR also expects to see some trials and increased investigation by several European and Asian operators to occur this year and in 2004.

According to the report, personal digital assistant (PDA) manufacturers have greatly increased their Bluetooth activity with a number of product introductions and a marketing push; Bluetooth silicon revenue will rise to $1.7 billion in 2007; and the vast majority of chipset shipments in 2002 were up to the host controller interface (HCI) only, but will migrate slowly toward solutions that include all of the embedded upper stack elements. Although Europe is presently the leader in terms of design decisions, it is no longer the leader in Bluetooth chipset shipments to that region for manufacturing. With an increase in expected production of headsets, notebook computers, consumer products and mobile phones in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, Europe's share of shipments will erode.

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