MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Two research firms presented two related pictures about the short-range technology ZigBee.
West Technology Research Solutions said the ZigBee market will be fragmented and dominated by proprietary solutions, while Allied Business Intelligence expects the deployment of about 80 million devices by the end of 2006.
ABI said while it expects the industrial sector to get the ZigBee ball rolling, the simple technical requirements for deployments will allow the home sector to generate many times more revenue.
“Instead of becoming a standard for low data rate network environments, ZigBee is in danger of evolving into simply one among many proprietary options,” said Kirsten West, one of the principals of WTRS, which predicts a moderate growth rate for chipsets from 19 million units in 2006 to 123 million units in 2009, representing 19.7 percent and 10 percent respectively.
ZigBee will be “the next revolution in wireless technology,” according to Chris Lopez, analyst with ABI.
Like WTRS, Lopez raises concern about proprietary solutions as hindrances to the consumer market. “Some are waiting for ratification of the ZigBee standard and for the ZigBee home market to develop,” he said, “while a few others are plunging ahead, hoping to win consumers’ trust early in the game.”
