WLAN sales pick up speed in Q1

First-quarter revenues rise 18 per cent with Aruba and HP the big winners, according to Dell'Oro research

The wireless LAN (WLAN) market's return to form continued in the first quarter as global sales leapt 18 per cent year on year.

According to market watcher Dell'Oro Group, WLAN revenues hit $573m (£350m) in the three months to March with sales from all three sub-segments – service provider mesh, enterprise and SOHO – rising by double digits.

Dell'Oro said the leap in wireless sales, which crashed during the worst of the recession, was driven both by rising shipments and average selling prices.

The upbeat research will be welcomed by the WLAN channel after a European body called for the technology to be banned from school classrooms.

Aruba and HP were the major winners in the enterprise space in the first quarter, added Dell'Oro.

Loren Shalinsky, senior analyst of WLAN research at Dell'Oro, said: "Growing acceptance of personal devices such as smartphones and tablets in offices is leading to greater diversity in sales, and is driving the general enterprise segment."