The number of Wi-Fi enabled devices shipped in 2012 is expected to surpass 1.5 billion, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). Growth is occurring across many markets including mobile handsets, laptops, media tablets, printers, TVs, and automotive, according to the research group.

"Since 2009 over nine billion Wi-Fi enabled devices have been shipped," says Peter Cooney, wireless connectivity practice director, ABI Research. "While growth was driven by networking in the early years the smartphone soon became the major market. Growth in the next few years will be increasingly driven by a whole host of applications in the mobile and connected home space."

One key growth area is the connected home, in particular the increasingly popular connected TV. Wi-Fi is currently widely used for Internet access in connected TVs but wired connections are also used in many cases. 17 million Wi-Fi enabled flat panel TVs were shipped in 2011, this grew to 30 million in 2012 and is forecast to grow four-fold by 2017.

"Wi-Fi is expected to become ubiquitous in coming years, not only to allow wireless Internet access, but mainly as consumers increasingly demand wireless connections between TVs and other devices such as smartphones and media tablets," adds Cooney. "The forthcoming Wi-Fi display specification or Miracast, will further drive Wi-Fi attach rates in the connected home as consumers embrace the technology."