Carrier WiFi: $3 Billion in 2018

According to Infonetics Research, the carrier WiFi market is expected to reach $3 billion in 2018. The research house credits the expected growth to fixed and mobile operators seeking to extend their broadband subscription services. Other factors include the push for service augmentation and upgrade to 802.11ac, Hotspot 2.0, voice over WiFi (VoWiFi), and NFV.

Other findings indicate:

• The global carrier WiFi equipment market (carrier WiFi access points and WiFi hotspot controllers) totaled $527 million in 2013, a gain of 9% from the previous year, driven in part by the deployment of small cells with integrated WiFi.
• In the first half of 2014 (1H14), carrier WiFi equipment revenue reached $286 million, up 6% from the second half of 2013 (2H13).
• 802.11ac access points contributed 11% to 1H14 WiFi access point revenue and are expected to see notable adoption in the coming years.
• The evolution of NFV offers the opportunity for more cost-effective WiFi service delivery by a range of service providers as well as enterprises and other organizations with existing WiFi (or wireless LAN) deployments.
• Cisco, Huawei, and Ruckus Wireless (listed in alphabetical order) are the carrier WiFi market share leaders in 1H14.