WLAN switch sales up 52% in Q2 2005, Cisco and Linksys lead

Worldwide wireless LAN switch ports jumped 52% to 170,000, and revenue grew 55% to $80.8 mln between Q1 and Q2 2005 and is expected to top $735 mln by 2008, according to Infonetics Research. The overall WLAN equipment market is holding steady, with worldwide revenue dipping 1% to $733 mln between Q1 2005 and Q2 2005, and unit shipments increasing 7%. Annual revenue is expected to increase to $4.1 bln in 2008 as WLANs continue to gain traction across all regions.

Cisco leads in overall WLAN equipment revenue share, following its fourth consecutive $100-mln-plus quarter. Linksys (a Cisco company) is second, ahead of D-Link in third and NETGEAR in 4th. Access points account for 67% of WLAN equipment revenue, NICs for 16%, and WLAN infrastructure products for 17%. SOHOs/consumers make up 43% of WLAN equipment revenue, declining from 51% in Q1 2005; service providers/enterprises make up 57%. North America accounts for 49% of WLAN equipment revenue, EMEA 26%, Asia Pacific 22%, CALA 3%.