GigaOM

San Jose Mercury News points out that 2005 will be a big year for WiFi chips. Craig Barratt, chief executive of wireless chip maker Atheros Communications, is looking at a growth year in 2005.

International Data Corp. estimates that the WiFi chip set market will grow 42 percent a year from 2003 to 2008, with revenues rising from $805 million in 2003 to $2.4 billion in 2008. That’s a much faster growth rate than the 11 percent a year predicted for chips overall. “If the chip industry has a downturn in 2005, this market niche will be a refuge from that,” IDC analyst Ken Furer said.