Networking Quarterlies

WLAN Market Gets Off to a Promising Start in 2002

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 15, 2002 - The Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market began 2002 in a promising light, experiencing a greater than 10% growth in total unit shipments over the first quarter of 2002, according to In-Stat/MDR. End-use revenues managed to squeak out a slight growth over the quarter, even in the midst of plummeting prices for popular Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) equipment.

"Although the economy was stagnant and business budgets were relatively tight in 1Q02, the WLAN market grew for two main reasons," says Gemma Paulo, an analyst with the high-tech market research firm. "First, end-users in the home and in the business are increasingly attracted to the mobility that WLANs offer, and secondly, the cost of implementing Wi-Fi networks continues to fall, as an increasing number of vendors enter the market, and a wider variety of equipment is released into the market."

In-Stat/MDR also found that:

• Cisco continued to dominate the market in terms of overall revenue, although Linksys, Buffalo, Agere and D-Link showed considerable strength in overall unit shipments.
• For the first quarter, non-trivial shipments of 802.11a Network Interface Cards (NICs) and Access Points (APs) were recorded, from the likes of Intel, SMC, Netgear, Proxim, D-Link & Actiontec. Although many of these 802.11a pioneers had announced that they were shipping in 4Q01, most did not have product ready to ship until 1Q02, needing additional time to refine products.
• The home market continued to drive overall WLAN market growth, with total home shipments growing almost 20%, spurred on by the popularity of low-cost wireless broadband gateway products (combo AP and router devices often with multiple Ethernet ports and optional print servers).
• The business market was helped along by Agere's noticeable recovery in 1Q02, emerging from a lackluster 2H01, namely with its ORiNOCO-branded products. However, the growth in business WLAN shipments was primarily driven by low-cost providers that were also strong in the home market, including Buffalo, Linksys, D-Link and Netgear.
• Europe and Asia Pacific remained extremely significant markets for WLAN growth. Hot markets outside North America included Japan, S Korea, Germany, Belgium, the UK, and the Nordic countries.

The report, 1Q 2002 WLAN Market Analysis (#IN020200WL), contains market shares and forecasts for NICs and access points, by technology (802.11b, 802.11a, others), and by market (business and consumer). To purchase this report, or for more information, please contact Matthew Woods at mwoods@cahners.com or 617.630.2139. The report is priced at $2,995 USD.

For more information, contact:

Gemma Paulo, Analyst - Enterprise & Residential Networking
Phone: 480 483.4465
Email: gpaulo@instat.com

Kirsten Skedd, Marketing Manager
Phone: 480.609.4534
Email: kskedd@instat.com

This report will be available for download/purchase
on Wednesday, May 22th.