During the next three years, the Chinese market for WiFi technology will likely grow four-fold, experiencing a 45 percent annual growth rate. A white paper written for the WiFi Alliance by Chinese market research group Analysys International says the growth will be driven by deeper penetration of broadband and falling prices of WiFi-enabled laptops. The market for APs, network cards and other non-embedded WiFi equipment will be worth about RMB 10 billion by 2008.

The white paper also finds that:

• One of the key components of the long-term growth of the Chinese market for WiFi-enabled consumer and enterprise gear is the 10,000 hot spots in the country and the world's largest population of mobile phone subscribers
• China's enterprise sector is adopting WiFi at the fastest rate, especially for internal use; the market for enterprise WiFi equipment will likely be four times its current size by 2009
• Chinese telecom operators have invested heavily in hot spot deployments, and are now focusing on providing home WiFi networks as a value added service to basic broadband access

For more on WiFi prospects in China:
- see this Wi-Fi Alliance press release
- and Analysis International's Web site