802.11n Products on the Rise

(Business News & Technology News, 30 Jun 2008)

The wireless LAN infrastructure market, which includes independent and dependent access points and WLAN switches and controllers, sequentially increased in revenue but decreased in units shipped in 1Q08, according to Infonetics Research. The market research firm says this is evidence that higher-priced 802. 11n products are now shipping in increasing volume.

According to Infonetics, worldwide WLAN equipment revenue hit $499 million in the first quarter of the year, up 1 percent from the previous quarter, marginally beating the previous all-time high of the third quarter last year.

"802.11n products are now making a more marked impact on the wireless market overall, with vendors reporting an acceleration in 802.11n shipments in 1Q08," says Richard Webb, directing analyst for wireless and mobile devices at Infonetics Research. "It looks like enterprise Wi-Fi products will migrate from 802.11g to 802.11n as rapidly as 802. 11b products migrated to 802.11g several years ago. Yes, enterprises would like to see a return on their 802.11g investments before making significant upgrades, but the speed benefits of 802.11n are undeniable, with adoption being driven by the increase in new notebooks and PDAs with embedded 802.11n."

Other highlights from the report include the following:
- Cisco continues to dominate the worldwide WLAN equipment market, holding the number 1 position in enterprise and service provider segments

- The more closely fought contest is for the 2nd to 4th positions, which will be contested by 3Com, Aruba, HP, Motorola and Trapeze—a battle of WLAN specialists versus integrated enterprise vendors

- Worldwide revenue from WLAN switch and controller products declined 4 percent from the previous quarter, but is expected to grow at a strong 23 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2007 to 2011

- Worldwide enterprise single mode WiFi phone revenue dropped 13 percent in the first quarter this year from the previous quarter, largely due to a decreased shipment volume from previous market leader Cisco

- Polycom claims the lead position in the worldwide Wi-Fi phone revenue, knocking Cisco into 2nd place for 1Q08

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