WLAN sales crash in Q1

Softness in the enterprise market sees revenue shrink 15 per cent but 11n technology still flies off the shelves

Big impact: 11n technology now represents the majority of the WLAN market

The global wireless LAN (WLAN) market suffered a sequential decline of more than 15 per cent during 2009's first quarter, research has claimed.

The Wireless LAN Quarterly Report from the Dell'Oro Group claims the slump was largely fuelled by a significant drop in the enterprise market. The small office/home office (SoHo) market performed better as the popularity of 802.11n routers shored up revenues. The Asia Pacific region outperformed the market as a whole.

Sales of 11n were up across the board and the technology now represents more than half the total market. Dell'Oro claims Vendors D-Link and Netgear have cashed in 11n's rise to dominance and both enjoyed a solid Q1.

Ben Kwan, wireless LAN research analyst for the Dell'Oro Group said: “While 802.11n revenues increased in both the SoHo and enterprise wireless LAN segments in the first quarter, the sequential gain was more pronounced in the SOHO wireless router category.

“During the first quarter, users opted to pay higher prices for the higher performance of 802.11n wireless routers, propelling 802.11n sales to become the majority of the market. Strong retail brands, D-Link and Netgear, benefited the most from this increased demand.”