WLAN Hardware Market Up 56% to $2.5B in 2003; Linksys, NETGEAR, D-Link Lead


LONDON, UK, February 25, 2004 -/Wi-Fi Technology News/- Worldwide wireless LAN hardware revenue reached $2.5 billion in 2003, up 56% from 2002, driven by strong wireless gateway growth, according to Infonetics Research's quarterly worldwide market share and forecast service, Wireless LAN Hardware.

The market was relatively flat between 3Q03 and 4Q03, topping $682 million in 4Q03, and overall unit growth will be steady over the next four quarters as ASPs are eroded by increased vendor competition. By 2007, revenue is forecasted to hit $3.6 billion, as volume growth for wireless LAN products continues worldwide and WLAN switches make an impact.

"The wireless LAN switch segment is poised for some big changes in 2004," said Infonetics Research's Richard Webb, lead analyst of the report. "Shipments are low as this market is still in its infancy, but wireless LAN switch vendors are marketing their products aggressively, and enterprises are becoming aware of these products. Vendors will soon begin reducing per-port prices, as this will become a highly competitive market segment."

4Q03 Highlights

WLAN hardware revenue breakdown: access points: 66%; NICs: 32%; WLAN switch and aggregation products: 2%; security gateways: 1% (as the latter gain greater market traction, the proportion of revenue from APs and NICs will decrease)
Linksys claimed the overall number-one spot with 19% of revenue; NETGEAR is second place with 16%; D-Link is third with 15%.
All three leading vendors had their highest revenue quarter to date, and each passed the $100 million mark for the first time.
Cisco leads total access point revenue market share with 17%, marginally ahead of NETGEAR at 16%, followed by Linksys and D-Link, each with 13%.
Despite a down quarter overall, Cisco leads in standalone access point revenue, with a massive 37% of revenue.
NETGEAR leads the wireless broadband gateway segment with 27% of revenue, ahead of D-Link with 20%, Linksys with 17%, and 2Wire with 10%
WLAN switch port shipments grew 51% to 13,118 and revenue grew 56% to $12.8 million; these high-growth figures are a consequence of low base figures from 3Q03 and the entrance of several vendors, for whom 4Q03 was the first quarter of recognized shipments and revenue.

Wireless LAN Hardware tracks access points (standalone, wireless broadband gateways, bridges), switches, aggregation devices, security gateways, NICs, and embedded NICs. Standalone access points, indoor bridges, and the wireless LAN hardware revenue total are broken out by SOHO/consumer vs. service provider/enterprise.

Forecasts and market share are updated quarterly and cover all regions (worldwide, North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, CALA). Companies tracked include 2Wire, 3Com, Airespace, Ambit, Aruba Networks, Avaya, Belkin, Buffalo Technology, Cisco, D-Link, HP, Linksys, NETGEAR, Nortel Networks, Proxim, SMC, Symbol, Trapeze Networks, US Robotics, ZyXEL, and others.

For the table of contents, log on to Infonetics Research's Information Portal and download it at http://www.info.infonetics.com or contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com, 408.298.7999 x225.

Infonetics Research (http://www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm covering the data networking and telecommunications industries in North America, Europe, and Asia. Infonetics helps companies develop, market, and sell products and services by providing objective analysis of end-users, service providers, and product manufacturers. Infonetics has offices in Silicon Valley, the Boston Metro Area, and London.