Infonetics: Sales of Global Carrier WiFi Equipment to Soar

The global carrier WiFi equipment market (carrier WiFi access points and WiFi hotspot controllers) totaled $527 million in 2013, a gain of 9% from the previous year, driven in part by the deployment of small cells with integrated WiFi, according to a new report from Infonetics Research.

Some highlights:

• In the first half of 2014 (1H14), carrier WiFi equipment revenue reached $286 million, up 6% from the second half of 2013 (2H13)
• 802.11ac access points contributed 11% to 1H14 WiFi access point revenue and are expected to see notable adoption in the coming years
• The evolution of network functions virtualization (NFV) offers the opportunity for more cost effective WiFi service delivery by a range of service providers as well as enterprises and other organizations with existing WiFi (or wireless LAN) deployments
• Cisco, Huawei, and Ruckus Wireless (listed in alphabetical order) are the carrier WiFi market share leaders in 1H14

“The carrier WiFi market has seen a dynamic injection of growth in the last couple of years, driven by fixed and mobile operators seeking to extend and enhance their broadband subscription services,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile backhaul and small cells at Infonetics Research. “The push for service augmentation and upgrade to the 802.11ac standard, combined with the opportunities presented by Hotspot 2.0, voice over WiFi (VoWiFi), and network functions virtualization (NFV) to derive new service models, will drive the carrier WiFi market to $3 billion in 2018.”

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2014/1H14-Carrier-WiFi-Equipment-Market-Highlights.asp