Interactive access points are in demand Demand for WiFi connectivity continues unabated: access point shipments are up 14% year-over-year in 3Q14, says market research firm Infonetics Research. Excerpts from its 3rd quarter 2014 Wireless LAN Equipment and wifi Phones report, which tracks enterprise access points, wireless LAN controllers, and wifi phones show the global wireless LAN equipment market improved in 3Q14, growing 5% sequentially to $1.3bn.
"After a weak first half of the year, wireless LAN sales improved in 3Q14 thanks to higher demand from government and enterprise customers. Revenue growth is once again accelerating-and even outpacing-access point shipments, a sign that vendors were able to sustain pricing and shift the product mix to higher-priced equipment such as 802.11ac access points, which now account for almost a quarter of all shipments," notes Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.
Interactive access points are the top-performing WLAN segment in 3Q14 - 802.11ac access point penetration is up almost 10-fold over the past year, with almost 1 million units shipped in 3Q14
Aruba and Ruckus notched the highest growth of all WLAN equipment vendors in Q3 while wifi phone shipments are reversing course from a great 2013 due to weakness in the healthcare vertical and continuing weak demand for enterprise phone systems