The enterprise segment of the wireless local area network (WLAN) market experienced remarkable growth in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q23), with revenues surging by 43.3 percent year over year to reach $3.0 billion, as reported in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker. In contrast, the consumer segment of the WLAN market witnessed a 14.0 percent year-over-year decline during the same period.
The driving force behind this robust performance in the enterprise segment is the widespread adoption of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, the latest standards in the WLAN industry. Wi-Fi 6 Dependent Access Points (APs) accounted for a substantial 79.7 percent of dependent AP revenues.
Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6E, which extends Wi-Fi capabilities into the 6 GHz spectrum, continued to gain momentum, with revenues increasing by an impressive 51.5 percent sequentially from 1Q23 to 2Q23. Wi-Fi 6E now constitutes 14.3 percent of dependent AP revenues and 7.7 percent of dependent AP unit shipments. The consumer segment also embraced Wi-Fi 6, with Wi-Fi 6 contributing to 51.6 percent of its revenues in 2Q23.
Brandon Butler, Research Manager, Enterprise Networks at IDC, commented on the findings, stating, “The enterprise WLAN market continued its strong growth momentum in the second quarter of 2023, which builds on strong growth for much of the past calendar year. A significant factor driving WLAN market growth continues to be the easing of component shortages and supply chain disruptions, which is allowing vendors to recognize revenue from fulfilling backlogged product orders. Meanwhile, the continued adoption of new Wi-Fi standards adds to market momentum.”
The enterprise WLAN market displayed robust performance on a global scale, with notable growth in various regions:
United States: The market surged by 79.5 percent year over year in 2Q23.
Canada: Revenues increased by 79.1 percent.
Latin America: The market saw a rise of 49.6 percent.
Western Europe: Revenues increased by 29.7 percent.
Central and Eastern Europe: The market rose by 42.0 percent.
Middle East & Africa: Market revenues increased by 51.0 percent.
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China): The market witnessed a rise of 36.8 percent.
People’s Republic of China: The market declined by 12.5 percent.
Japan: Market revenues increased by 14.6 percent.
Key highlights from leading companies in the market include:
Cisco: Enterprise WLAN revenues surged by 65.6 percent year over year in 2Q23, with a market share of 43.5 percent.
HPE Aruba Networking: Revenues rose by 55.3 percent, resulting in a market share of 16.2 percent.
Huawei: Enterprise WLAN revenues increased by 26.6 percent, achieving a market share of 7.5 percent.
Ubiquiti: Revenues increased by 4.4 percent, securing a market share of 5.8 percent.
CommScope: Enterprise WLAN revenues surged by 72.2 percent, with a market share of 4.8 percent.
Juniper Networks: Revenues increased by 39.3 percent, resulting in a market share of 3.7 percent in 2Q23.
The robust growth of the enterprise WLAN market underscores the significance of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E in meeting the evolving connectivity needs of enterprises, contributing to a thriving wireless networking sector.
