Wireless LAN (WLAN) revenues plunged by 27% in Q1 2024 as enterprises and distributors digested the large volume of WLAN equipment that was shipped a year ago, according to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group.
“While most vendors had sharp contractions in WLAN revenues, Juniper was one of the few companies that expanded their sales on a YoY basis,” says Siân Morgan, research director at Dell’Oro Group. “Enterprises may be insecure about equipment roadmaps because of the pending HPE-Juniper acquisition, but it doesn’t appear to be affecting Juniper Mist WLAN sales.
“The market downturn is also not preventing Huawei from aggressively positioning Wi-Fi 7,” Morgan adds. “In Q1 2024, the new APs represent a small fraction of overall sales, but Huawei’s focus on portfolio breadth and lower costs is going to mean a head-on battle for customer mindshare in CALA and EMEA.”
Additional highlights from the 1Q 2024 Wireless LAN Quarterly Report include:
* Most vendors experienced a sharp drop in sales, but three companies were notable outliers and managed to grow their WLAN revenues on a YoY basis.
* Dell’Oro Group’s outlook calls for another quarter of steep WLAN revenue reduction before the market begins to show signs of recovery.
* All macro regions contracted on a YoY basis, with North America experiencing the steepest reduction in revenues.
* The percent adoption of both WiFi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 Indoor APs grew sequentially, as the industry waits for more WiFi 7 announcements.