Worldwide revenues in the combined consumer and enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments declined 6,5% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) and fell 3,9% for the full year.
According to results published in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker. The enterprise segment grew revenues 1,5% year over year in 4Q19 to reach $1,7-billion and 1,8% for the full year 2019, reaching $6,2-billion.
One of the major advancements in the WLAN market in 2019 has been the introduction of WiFi 6, or 802.11ax. In the enterprise segment, WiFi 6 rose to make up 10% of dependent AP unit shipments and 16,7% of revenues in 4Q19, up from 3,2% of shipments and 6,2% of revenues in the previous quarter.
This indicates that WiFi 6 adoption among enterprises has begun in earnest. The previous generation standard, 802.11ac, still makes up the majority of shipments (78,4%) and revenues (78,3%) in the enterprise market.
Meanwhile, the consumer WLAN market showed weakness in 4Q19. Revenues declined 12.0% year over year in 4Q19 and were off 7,8% for the full year. Within the consumer market, 59,5% of shipments and 78,3% of revenues were for 802.11ac products. WiFi 6 has not yet penetrated the consumer market, which means 802.11n still makes up a significant portion of both unit shipments (40,1%) and revenues (19,4%).
“Enterprise WLAN market growth slowed in the latter part of 2019 due in part to macro-economic issues impacting enterprise spending, especially in 4Q19. While these results closed before Covid-19 began spreading, the concerns around it are expected to further impact the broader outlook for the market in the first half of 2020,” says Brandon Butler, senior research analyst: network infrastructure at IDC.
“Despite these near-term headwinds, enterprises will continue to invest in wireless networking technology given its critical importance as an access connectivity method and driver of digital transformation.”
From a geographic perspective, the WLAN market saw strong growth in the Middle East and Africa region in 4Q19, which increased 12,4% year over year and 13,6% for the full year compared to 2018. Saudi Arabia was a standout in the region, growing 22,1% year over year in 4Q19. The US market grew 5,4% year over year in 4Q19 and was up 3,9% for the full year. Canada’s 4Q19 revenues rose 5,3%, bringing the full year growth to 1.2%.
The Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan), was flat for the quarter, rising 0,3%, but ended the full year up 2,4%. The People’s Republic of China grew 7% in the quarter and 6,4% for the full year. Japan’s market grew 4% for the quarter but was down 11,2% for the full year. The Central & Eastern Europe region was also flat with a decline of 0,4% in 4Q19 and ended the year just positive at 0,1% growth. A standout in the region was Romania, which grew 12,1% in the quarter. Western Europe declined 4,3% for the quarter and 0,5% for the full year. Within the region, the UK fell 7,1% in the quarter. The market in Latin America was down 8,6% for the quarter and 7,2% for the year; Mexico’s market fell 16,5% in the quarter.
“The enterprise WLAN market experienced mixed results across the globe, indicating the impact of geo-political issues,” notes Petr Jirovsky, research director: Worldwide Networking Trackers at IDC. “Within the enterprise market, the emergence of the 802.11ax standard has hit a turning point with WiFi 6 now being adopted by enterprises across the globe. The enterprise WLAN market is on the cusp of a significant refresh cycle that will help propel the market’s growth in the coming quarters and years.”
Cisco’s enterprise WLAN revenues decreased 3,7% year over year in 4Q19, but the company ended 2019 with full-year revenues 1,7% above its 2018 revenues. Cisco remains the market share leader, finishing the year with 44,6% share.
HPE-Aruba’s revenues rose 6,1% year over year in 4Q19 and were up 1,4% for the full year. The company’s market share remained steady at 13,9% in 2019 compared to 2018.
Ubiquiti’s enterprise WLAN revenues were flat year over year in 4Q19, rising just 0,3%; the company’s full year revenues grew 11,5% giving Ubiquiti 7% share to end the year.
Huawei had a strong quarter with revenues rising 10,6% year over year in 4Q19. For the full year, revenues were up 9,9%, giving the company 5,5% share to end the year.
CommScope (formerly ARRIS/Ruckus) saw its revenues decline 8,9% in 4Q19 and were off 17,2% for the full year. The company ended 2019 with 5,3% market share.