Wireless LAN Gear Tops $1B per Quarter, Says Infonetics

Infonetics Research, a renowned telecom and datacom market research firm, has released its 2012 Wireless LAN Equipment and Wi-Fi Phones market size, market share and forecast report for the third quarter.

The study tracks access points, wireless LAN (WLAN) controllers, and Wi-Fi phones for the enterprise.

“Coming on the heels of a 16-percent jump the previous quarter, WLAN equipment revenue grew another 6 percent quarter-over-quarter, passing the $1-billion mark for the first time,” noted Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.

“The usual demand drivers—wireless devices, BYOD, mobility—were in play, but there was also an acceleration of carrier Wi-Fi deployments, with sales of outdoor access points doubling over the past year.”

Machowinski also added that, “Wireless LAN is a real bright spot in the networking industry, achieving record sales despite ongoing economic uncertainty.”

Wireless LAN Market Q3 2012 Highlights:

Overall Global demand for WLAN gear is balanced. Three major regions – North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific – are seeing 20 percent year-over-year revenue growth.

The businesses have been moving to centrally managed WLAN architectures and therefore a strong growth is seen in interactive access point revenue.

The transition to 802.11n has almost ended, as about 84 percent of access points shipments are now based on standard. The shipping of new next-generation 802.11 ac products will start in the summer of 2013.

Cisco continued to add to its strong Q212 performance in Q312. It grew for another 2 percent sequentially and has held on to its 1st place for WLAN equipment. Ruckus moved into number-four spot with 78 percent year-over-year growth rate.

Thanks to its success in the healthcare market, Vocera stayed in the lead for Wi-Fi phone market share in 3Q12.

Infonetics Research has been serving the communications industry since 1990, and has been successfully defining and tracking emerging and established technologies across the world. With the help of its insights in its quarterly reports, it helps its clients plan, strategize and compete effectively worldwide.

In quarterly WLAN equipment and Wi-Fi phones, Infonetics provides forecasts and analyzes trends for WLAN infrastructure, including access points, WLAN controllers, and enterprise single-mode Wi-Fi phones. It also provides details on regional and global market size and vendor market share. In its report, Infonetics tracked the performance of companies like Cisco, Brocade, Alcatel-Lucent, D-Link, Vocera, Xirrus, Interasys, Extreme, Meru, Motorola, Juniper, HP, Ruckus and NETGEAR, among others.