WLAN 802.11ac access points are gaining momentum with the first quarter shipments touching nearly 300,000 units, said Infonetics.
Interestingly, the global shipment of 802.11ac access points in the full year of 2013 was also 300,000 units, said Infonetics Research in its analysis on Wireless LAN Equipment and WiFi Phones.
Infonetics Research said the wireless LAN equipment market increased 3.3 percent year-on-year and shrank 10.8 percent sequentially to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
WLAN equipment market grew 11 percent to $4.47 billion in 2013.
WiFi phones market decreased 15 percent sequentially.
WLAN growth will accelerate in the coming quarters as infrastructure investments continue to favor WLAN to support more wireless devices, BYOD, and mobility, and as companies upgrade their networks to the latest technology.
“While WLAN growth slowed last quarter, pricing across all access point types rose for the first time in three quarters. 802.11ac is slowly starting to change the trajectory of the market and will drive renewed revenue growth over the coming quarters,” said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.
