Wi-Fi SoC began to experience shortages in supply

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Last month, as a major manufacturer of network cards, Intel began to streamline its network card product line. Intel has started the discontinuation plan for dozens of NIC chips and their products. After about a year, Intel’s NIC models will be significantly reduced. The report pointed out that Intel is speeding up the EOL plan for network card chips and their products because of various shortages in the industry chain. This approach can consolidate and maintain related supplies.

MediaTek AMD Wi-Fi 6E

Intel’s worries are not unreasonable, and preparation in advance also shows its sophisticated management. According to DigiTimes, Wi-Fi SoC has been out of stock recently due to problems in the supply of some raw materials. Although manufacturers have improved with the allocation of wafer capacity, the improvement is very small at this stage. At present, the delivery of related chips generally takes six months to one year, but the actual shipment may change every month. For manufacturers, the price of mainstream Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) SoCs on the market continues to rise, causing cost pressures to increase.

It is understood that the shortage of Wi-Fi chips may continue until the first half of 2022. Some manufacturers take this opportunity to consolidate product specifications and vigorously promote Wi-Fi 6/6E products, allowing users to choose higher-end products in an environment where supply exceeds demand. Some insiders pointed out that in the case of tight supply, industry leaders with a greater say will further promote the upgrade of specifications, the market share of Wi-Fi 6/6E products is expected to increase to 50% to 60% in 2022. Practitioners such as Broadcom, Qualcomm, and MediaTek are now actively promoting and emphasizing the specifications advantages of Wi-Fi 6/6E products, and it is possible to complete the upgrade of Wi-Fi in 2022.

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