Wifi Revolution

Due to supply shortages by equipment manufacturers, worldwide sales of wireless LANs during the second quarter of 2009 shrunk from the first quarter, a new report by market-research firm Dell’ (News - Alert)Oro Group reveals.

The most significant impact on dropping sales levels came from the enterprise class of products, followed by products targeting small office and home office users.

“The overall Wireless LAN market sales were about flat quarter to quarter at just under $1.0 billion,” said Tam Dell’Oro, president and founder of the group. “We calculate that sales would have risen about 5 percent had it not been for component shortages such as high-speed memory chipsets. U.S. government stimulus programs are turning into sales orders faster than people expected. It is not clear that the shortages are over.”

On the bright side, there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding the official launch of 802.11n in mid-September, when the I-EEE is scheduled to approve and publish the specification. Though a number of companies – like Aruba and Meru -- that have already been offering the technology to their early adopter clients, interest in 802.11n is expected to grow as the economy improves.

 

Additionally, Dell’Oro said in an earlier text, its “First Quarter 2009 Wireless LAN Report,” that 802.11n access points have tripled over the last year. Additionally, the WLAN market is expected to grow to $1.9 billion by the end of 2010 -- with 802.11n accounting for the majority of total access point shipments.

 

 

 

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