Wi-Fi chip supply tension will not be significantly relieved 28nm new production capacity release may become the key

Industry sources have revealed that the tight supply of Wi-Fi core chips is not expected to ease significantly in 2022 as demand continues to outpace supply, although suppliers are seeking more capacity support from foundry partners, but the delivery period will continue to remain long. As demand continues to outstrip supply, the tight supply of Wi-Fi core chips is not expected to ease significantly in 2022, although suppliers are seeking more capacity support from foundry partners, but the delivery period will continue to remain longer, according to the Electronic Times. MediaTek noted that demand for Wi-Fi 6/6E core chips will grow significantly this year, thanks to the rapid integration of such chipsets in a variety of smart end devices (including notebooks and customer office equipment) in addition to routers. Rene pointed out that by the end of 2022, Wi-Fi 6/6E penetration alone will soar to more than 50%, the core chip supply will continue to be tight. The report cited the source pointed out that Wi-Fi 6/6E core chips are mostly manufactured using 28nm process. This is currently the most popular process node, but the supply is very limited. The shortage of Wi-Fi core chips is not expected to improve until more new 28nm capacity comes online in 2023. For this reason, for some high-end wireless core chips, chip makers are using 16nm or even 7nm processes. But since there are fewer foundries that can adopt these process nodes, it remains to be seen whether this technology upgrade will trigger a new round of chip shortages in the coming years. The sources pointed out that MediaTek and Rare have begun to work more closely with foundry partners to gain a larger share of the market this year, such as Wi-Fi core chip suppliers. Compared with competitors Qualcomm and Broadcom, MediaTek and ReneSola have an advantage in winning capacity support from foundries. This is due to their long-standing close relationships with local foundry partners, including TSMC and UMC, and their acceptance of virtually all pricing and other terms offered by the latter. The source emphasized that although Taiwan's IC design houses are still playing catch-up in the Wi-Fi 6/6E market, they have the opportunity to gain a higher market share and even take the lead in the Wi-Fi 7 market. As long as they can take full advantage of the stable capacity supply from their foundry partners and try to provide the same level of technology as their international counterparts. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)