Wireless is continuing to grow at a good pace, despite the economic slowdown of the technology industry, according to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI), Oyster Bay, NY.

Those involved in the narrowband and broadband wireless industries will have an increasing volume of sales, ABI said, though the upward curve may not match the grandiose predictions made in 2000.

The wireless narrowband market is evolving as carriers move to 2.5G and 3G networks, upgrading infrastructure from 1999 to 2006. ABI predicts that, overall, there will be more than 1.7 billion wireless subscribers by year-end 2006, with more than 500 million of those using wireless Internet access. The movement into the next generation of cellular technology will also create a larger market for Bluetooth connectivity, with module shipments expected to rise from less than 1 million in 2001 to 1.6 billion in 2006.

For broadband wireless, LMDS, MMDS and unlicensed band fixed wireless will continue to be used as a solution for the local loop. LMDS subscribers will number 3.6 million in 2007, according to ABI, while the MMDS subscriber base will reach about 14 million during the same period.