FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide WLAN market revenues declined 6.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and 3.9% in 2019, according to International Data Corp.
Enterprise segment revenues grew 1.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to $1.7 billion and 1.8% for the full year, reaching $6.2 billion.
In the enterprise segment, Wi-Fi 6 made up 10% of dependent AP unit shipments and 16.7% of revenues, up from 3.2% of shipments and 6.2% of revenues in the previous quarter. This indicates Wi-Fi 6 adoption among enterprises has begun in earnest, according to IDC. The previous generation standard, 802.11ac, still makes up most shipments (78.4%) and revenues (78.3%) in the enterprise market.
Meanwhile, the consumer WLAN market showed weakness in the fourth quarter. Revenues declined 12% year-over-year and were off 7.8% for the full year. Within the consumer market, 59.5% of shipments and 78.3% of revenues were for 802.11ac products. Wi-Fi 6 has not yet penetrated the consumer market, which means 802.11n still makes up a significant portion of both unit shipments (40.1%) and revenues (19.4%).
"Enterprise WLAN market growth slowed in the latter part of 2019 due in part to macroeconomic issues impacting enterprise spending, especially in the fourth quarter,” said Brandon Butler, senior research analyst, Network Infrastructure, IDC. “While these results closed before Covid-19 began spreading, the concerns around it are expected to further impact the broader outlook for the market in the first half of 2020. Despite these near-term headwinds, enterprises will continue to invest in wireless networking technology, given its critical importance as an access connectivity method and driver of digital transformation."
From a geographic perspective, the WLAN market saw strong growth in the Middle East and Africa region during the fourth quarter, increasing 12.4% year-over-year and 13.6% in 2019 compared to 2018. Saudi Arabia was a standout in the region, growing 22.1% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. The US market grew 5.4% in the quarter and was up 3.9% for the full year. Canada's fourth quarter revenues rose 5.3%, bringing full-year growth to 1.2%.
The Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan) was flat for the quarter, rising 0.3%, but ended the full year up 2.4%. China grew 7% in the quarter and 6.4% for 2019. Japan's market grew 4% for the quarter but was down 11.2% for the year. The Central & Eastern Europe region was also flat, with a decline of 0.4% in the fourth quarter and ended the year with 0.1% growth. A standout in the region was Romania, which grew 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Western Europe declined 4.3% for the quarter and 0.5% for 2019. Within the region, the UK fell 7.1% in the quarter. The market in Latin America was down 8.6% for the quarter and 7.2% for the year. Mexico's market fell 16.5% in the fourth quarter.
"The enterprise WLAN market experienced mixed results across the globe, indicating the impact of geopolitical issues," said Petr Jirovsky, research director, Worldwide Networking Trackers. "Within the enterprise market, the emergence of the 802.11ax standard has hit a turning point, with Wi-Fi 6 now being adopted by enterprises across the globe. The enterprise WLAN market is on the cusp of a significant refresh cycle that will help propel the market's growth in the coming quarters and years."
Cisco's enterprise WLAN revenues decreased 3.7% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, but the company ended 2019 with full-year revenues 1.7% above 2018. Cisco remains the market share leader, finishing the year with 44.6% share.
HPE-Aruba's revenues rose 6.1% year-over-year in the quarter, up 1.4% for 2019. The company's market share remained steady at 13.9% in 2019 compared to 2018.
Ubiquiti's enterprise WLAN revenues were flat year-over-year in the fourth quarter, rising 0.3%. The company's full-year revenues grew 11.5%, giving Ubiquiti 7% share to end the year.
Huawei had a strong quarter, with revenues rising 10.6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. For 2019, revenues were up 9.9%, giving the company 5.5% share to end the year.
CommScope (formerly ARRIS/Ruckus) saw its revenues decline 8.9% in the quarter and were off 17.2% for the full year. The company ended 2019 with 5.3% market share.
