WiMAX and RAN equipment sales up, wireless LAN down in 2Q06

Infonetics’: The worldwide move toward greater mobility continues, says three recent reports tracking the wireless LAN, radio access network, and WiMAX/outdoor mesh network equipment markets.

worldwide RAN equipment sales jumped 20% to $8.9 billion between the first and second quarter of 2006; WiMAX equipment sales shot up 107% to $141 million; and while wireless LAN equipment sales dropped 7% to $654 million, growth is expected to be steady through 2009, fueled by strong WLAN switch and controller sales.

The mobility market is diversifying, with wireless mesh and WiMAX beginning to ramp up in addition to cellular and WiFi technologies, giving service providers more options when deploying wireless networks. Over the coming few years, these technologies will become increasingly interoperable, helping to edge us closer to the dream of ubiquitous wireless broadband.

2Q06 RAN Equipment Highlights

• Annual worldwide RAN equipment sales are forecast to hit $37 billion in 2009

• worldwide mobile subscribers are forecast to grow to 2.9 billion by 2009

• Ericsson claims the #1 position for overall RAN equipment revenue market share in 2Q06, ahead of Nokia, Nortel, and then Siemens

• 2G/2.5G GSM equipment accounted for 51% of RAN equipment revenue, 2G/2.5G CDMA for 15%, and 3G W-CDMA for 34%; this will shift significantly by 2009

• Asia Pacific accounted for 37% of RAN equipment revenue, EMea for 36%, North America 15%, and CALA 12%; a ramp-up in mobile network spending in 2007 will increase Asia Pacific’s revenue share significantly

2Q06 WiMAX and Outdoor Mesh Network Equipment Highlights

• Annual worldwide WiMAX equipment sales are expected to top $3 billion in 2009

• 65% of total WiMAX revenue comes from CPE, 35% from base stations in 2Q06

• worldwide outdoor wireless mesh access node revenue jumped 47% to $88 million and units are up 63% in 2Q06

• 40% of WiMAX equipment sales come from Asia Pacific, 30% from EMea, 17% from North America, and 13% from CALA, indicating that the strong early market for WiMAX is in developing countries

2Q06 Wireless LAN Equipment Highlights

• Annual worldwide WLAN equipment sales are forecast to reach $3.6 billion in 2009

• In 2Q06, enterprise products made up 47% of WLAN equipment revenue, residential products 45%, and service provider products 8%; enterprise products will increase to 67% of total WLAN equipment revenue by 2009

• Cisco remains the clear leader in the fast-growing enterprise WLAN equipment segment, followed by 2nd-place Symbol, and then Aruba and Trapeze, who are tied for 3rd

• Cisco also leads in worldwide service provider WLAN equipment sales, with 62% revenue share

• Linksys retained the #1 spot in residential WLAN equipment sales, followed by NETGEAR and then D-Link

• North America accounts for 48% of WLAN equipment revenue in 2Q06; EMea for 30%, Asia Pacific for 20%, and CALA at 2%

WiMAX and Outdoor Mesh Network Equipment Publ 20060906