According to ABI Research, 2017 will mark another milestone in Bluetooth technology through the release of Bluetooth 5 specification, further pushing wireless networking technology as the leading connectivity solution for the IoT.

The analyst forecasts 2021 Bluetooth Smart and Smart Ready device shipments reaching 5 billion units, the result of technical enhancements opening new opportunities, use cases and device types. Outside of mobile space, key IoT market growth areas include smart home and smart lighting, beacons and wearables, among others.

“While smartphones and audio accessories remain Bluetooth’s largest markets, the technology is becoming more attractive to low-power IoT applications,” ABI says. “Though Bluetooth still faces strong competition from the other standards, mesh networking will enable new opportunities for the technology in the smart home, building automation, and emerging IoT markets in which robustness, low latency, scalability, minimal power consumption and strong security are all additional critical requirements.”

According to ABI Research the 802.11ad (aka WiGig) chipset market will reach a "critical juncture" in 2017, thanks to the technology increasingly penetrating PCs, smartphones, tablets and other connected devices.

Since WiGig certification is currently underway, the analyst predicts WiGig chipset shipments will reach over 1 billion in 2021, as the technology enables wireless docking and enhances multimedia streaming, data transfer between devices, and networking applications. In addition more manufacturers should start making WiGig chipsets, including Broadcom, Intel, Lattice Semiconductor, MediaTek, Nitero, Peraso and Qualcomm, helping cut costs of the first WiGig-enabled devices.

“A major challenge for WiGig in moving to the 60GHz band is to build up an ecosystem and solid set of use cases to drive growth,” ABI says. “WiGig-enabled docks can be costly, and OEMs may choose not to implement the technology if there are only a limited number of devices that will work with the accessories.”

The Wifi Alliance certifies WiGig, the wireless networking standard operating in the 60GHz spectrum promising to enable multi-gigabit performance in a variety of short-range applications.

The wider 60GHz band is less congested, and complements the existing 2.4 and 5GHz wifi bands. It transmits data at speeds reaching up to 8Gbps and low latencies, with beamforming aiming signals directly at devices. Signal range reaches 10m-- short, but suitable for wired-grade line-of-sight scenarios both in-room and outside.

WiGig can find use in smartphones, portable PCs, tablets and access points, as well as home entertainment and general CE. ABI research predicts 2017 WiGig chipset shipments will reach 180 million in smartphones, before reaching 1.5 billion in total by 2021.

Luxul announces the XWO-BKT1-- a high performance wireless bridge kit designed to help installers satisfy ever-increasing customer demand for better networks.

The XWO-BKT1 combines dual-band 802.11ac wifi technology with high output power to deliver high throughput 5GHz outdoor bridging along with 2.4Ghz coverage. The kit consists of 2 outdoor bridging APs and all necessary installation hardware, including PoE injectors, mounting brackets and water resistant cable glands.