The shift to telecommuting, learning and entertainment triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for broadband services, resulting in 214.8 million CPE shipped in 2020 (Consumer Premise Equipment, CPE ). This is 5% more than in 2019. Demand will continue to grow while the share of advanced Wi-Fi devices supporting mesh networks and the latest Wi-Fi specifications such as Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E increases.
Consulting firm ABI Research expects Wi-Fi CPE equipment shipments in 2026 to exceed 263 million units, and the number of Wi-Fi 6 devices will increase from 9% of total Wi-Fi CPE shipments in 2020 to 81% in 2026.
Due to higher prices, analysts point out that Wi-Fi 6 deployments are currently focused in North America and Europe. These regions account for more than half of the total supply. However, as the pace of adoption picks up over the next few years, prices will decline, which will drive the rollout of Wi-Fi 6 in emerging markets.
The introduction of Wi-Fi 6E has just begun. Although manufacturers have already presented the first devices, regulators are just starting to open up the required 6 GHz band. Wi-Fi 6E connectivity offers higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to Wi-Fi 6, making it suitable for applications such as augmented reality and virtual reality.
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