IT Trends

Enterprise Adoption of Wi-Fi 6E Sees Momentum as 6 GHz Band Gains Acceptance

• By David Nagel
• 06/15/23

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E helped propel the enterprise market for wireless LAN devices 67.4% year over year in the United States in the first quarter of 2023, according to new results published by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

Worldwide, the enterprise WLAN market increased 43.3%, with the greatest increases seen in Latin America (80.9%), the United States (67.4%), Canada (51.6%), and Western Europe (51.2%). The market declined in China by 13% and in Central and Eastern Europe by 2.5%.

According to IDC, Wi-Fi 6E, which uses the 6 GHz band, grew 14.1% between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 and now makes up 10.4% of revenues for WLAN access points. Wi-Fi 6 made up 78.6% of dependent AP revenues. Total revenues for the enterprise WLAN market reached $2.8 billion worldwide in the first quarter of 2023.

The consumer segment, meanwhile, declined 8.8% year over year, with Wi-Fi 6 making up 47.6% of consumer AP purchases.

"The enterprise WLAN market continues to grow at a rapid clip in the first quarter of 2023, building on strength from the second half of 2022," said Brandon Butler, research manager, Enterprise Networks, IDC. "A significant factor driving WLAN market growth continues to be the easing of the component shortages and supply chain disruptions, allowing vendors to recognize revenue from fulfilling backlogged product orders. Meanwhile, the continued adoption of new Wi-Fi standards adds to market momentum."

Cisco owned nearly half of the worldwide market in the first quarter, at 47.1%, with revenues increasing 62.7% to $1.3 billion, according to IDC.

HPE-Aruba was second, with a 16% market share, with revenues up 39.5% YoY. Ubiquiti saw revenues increase 18.7% and had a market share of 5.9%. Huawei had a market share of 4.6% and saw revenues increase 44.1%. And CommScope whose revenues grew 62.6% in the first quarter, had a market share of 4.5%.

Further details can be found in IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker.