The combined retail and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments experienced year-over-year market growth of 12.4% for the full year 2010 and quarter-over-quarter growth of 11.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker, the enterprise segment paved the way in 4Q10 with impressive 34.9% year-over-year growth and 12.3% quarter-over-quarter.
"The tremendous momentum behind smart mobile devices and the continued proliferation of higher performance 802.11n networks are driving enterprises to move forward with upgrades, extensions, and replacements of their wireless infrastructures," said Rohit Mehra, director, Enterprise Communications Infrastructure. "We expect these trends will continue over the next several quarters as 802.11n dominates and becomes the de facto standard in the enterprise."
Additionally, the retail-class WLAN market continues to stabilize from previous quarterly declines. Despite tight consumer spending and concerns about the economy, this segment of the market grew 11.1% quarter-over-quarter and 11.2% year-over-year in 4Q10. Dropping prices and increased consumer interest in networked home entertainment applications will continue to support this segment going forward.
Key Vendor Updates
- Cisco's enterprise WLAN revenue capped a good year with strong growth in 4Q10, growing 43.4% year-over-year and 16.3% quarter-over-quarter. For the full year 2010, Cisco grew revenues 30.7%. Cisco's Linksys consumer division, after a decline in 3Q10, grew 14.1% quarter-over-quarter in 4Q10.
- Aruba had an exceptional 4Q10 with branded revenue increasing 13.5% quarter-over-quarter and 72.2% year-over-year.
- HP recorded 22.4% year-over-year growth in 4Q10, whereas Motorola had a weaker quarter for WLAN declining 11.6% year-over-year
The IDC Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker service delivers a WLAN market pivot table nine weeks after the close of the calendar quarter. The WLAN coverage includes manufacturer revenue and unit shipments by vendor, market, form factor, product, standard, region, and average pricing.
source: IDC
