The combined retail and enterprise global wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments registered year-over-year growth of 12.4% in 2010 and quarter-over-quarter growth of 11.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to a new report by IDC.
The report revealed that the enterprise segment market registered an impressive growth of 34.9% year-over-year and 12.3% quarter-over-quarter in Q4 2010.
In the retail-class, WLAN market continued to stabilise from previous quarterly declines, in spite of tight consumer spending and concerns about the economy, by registering 11.1% quarter-over-quarter and 11.2% year-over-year growth in 4Q10.
The research firm said that the dropping prices and increased consumer interest in networked home entertainment applications will continue to support this segment going forward.
Cisco’s enterprise WLAN revenue grew by 43.4% year-over-year and 16.3% quarter-over-quarter in 4Q10 while for the full year, Cisco’s revenue increased by 30.7%.
The report said that Aruba registered an exceptional year-over-year growth of 72.2% in 4Q10 and 13.5% quarter-over-quarter.
HP recorded 22.4% year-over-year growth in 4Q10, while Motorola had a weaker quarter for WLAN declining 11.6% year-over-year.
IDC enterprise communications infrastructure director Rohit Mehra said the momentum behind smart mobile devices and the continued proliferation of higher performance 802.11n networks are driving enterprises to move forward with upgrades, extensions, and replacements of their wireless infrastructures.
"We expect these trends will continue over the next several quarters as 802.11n dominates and becomes the de facto standard in the enterprise," Mehra said.
