Enterprise WLAN Market Continues Strong Growth Momentum in Q1 of 2023

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The enterprise segment of the worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market increased 43.3% year over year in the first quarter of 2023 (1Q23) to reach $2.8 billion, according to results published in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker.

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, the newest standards in the WLAN industry, continue to drive growth in the enterprise segment of the market. Wi-Fi 6 Dependent Access Points (APs) made up 78.6% of dependent AP revenues. Meanwhile, Wi-Fi 6E, which expands Wi-Fi's use to the 6 GHz band of spectrum, saw continued rapid momentum, with revenues growing 14.1% sequentially from 4Q22 to 1Q23 to make up 10.4% of dependent AP revenues.

The consumer segment of the WLAN market declined 8.8% year over year in 1Q23. Adoption of Wi-Fi 6 continues in the consumer segment of the WLAN market too: In 1Q23, Wi-Fi 6 made up 47.6% of the market segment’s revenues.

"The enterprise WLAN market continues to grow at a rapid clip in the first quarter of 2023, building on strength from the second half of 2022," said Brandon Butler, research manager, Enterprise Networks, IDC. "A significant factor driving WLAN market growth continues to be the easing of the component shortages and supply chain disruptions, 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 had generally strong results across the globe. In the United States, the market increased 67.4% year over year in 1Q23 while in Canada the market rose 51.6%. In Latin America the market rose 80.9%. In Western Europe, the market increased 51.2% in 1Q23 while in Central and Eastern Europe, the market declined 2.5%. In the Middle East & Africa region, market revenues rose 37.8%. In the Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan and China), the market rose 33.0%. In the People's Republic of China, the market declined 13.0%, while in Japan the market rose 3.7%.

• Cisco's enterprise WLAN revenues increased 62.7% year over year in 1Q23 to $1.3 billion. The company's market share stood at 47.1% at the end of the quarter. 
• HPE-Aruba revenues rose 39.5% year over year in 1Q23, giving the company a market share of 16.0% in the quarter.
• Huawei enterprise WLAN revenues rose 44.1% year over year in 1Q23, giving the company a market share of 4.6%.
• Ubiquiti enterprise WLAN revenues increased 18.7%, giving the company 5.9% market share.
• CommScope revenues increased 62.6% year over year in the quarter, giving the company market share of 4.5%.