IT industry output in 2007 forecast at NTD 800 billion, WiMAX at USD 1 billion

December 28, 2006

Taiwan's IT industry output totaled over NTD 700 billion in 2006, posting record growth of 43%, according to a forecast report by the Industrial Technology Research Institute's Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK).

IEK projects that Taiwan IT industry will grow by 13% in 2007, with an output of NTD 796.6 billion.

And as next year is considered a key development year for WiMAX, the up-and-coming standard for wireless broadband networks, IEK has forecast that industry output could surpass USD 1 billion with the production of nearly 980,000 units.

2007 remains a 'transition stage' for the WiMAX market, due in part to the delayed release of the 802.16e-2005 standard chip, said Jhang.

WiMAX can expect full-scale growth when 802.16e products are released, said Jhang.

As for mobile phone sales projections for 2007, IEK forecasts that global mobile phone sales will grow by 9.6%. With the addition of newer designs and color screens, low-priced units will continue to grow, taking 7% of the global market. Multimedia functions and lower prices will help smartphone sales to increase by 70%, with an estimated 170 billion units slated for production.

IEK forecasts that Taiwan's mobile phone industry output in 2007 could reach NTD 320 billion with 3G phones entering mass production and the features upgrades on low-priced units.

(Central News Agency)

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