SOHO 802.11 Adoption Drives Worldwide Market

According to a recent study from Dell’Oro
Group
, the 802.11-based wireless local area network (WLAN) market grew three
percent in the fourth quarter of 2002 tallying up more than $419 million in
sales.

While seasonal sales surges typically experienced in the fourth quarter
failed to materialize for the enterprise market last year, the small office and
home office (SOHO) market continued to exhibit a strong affinity for
802.11-based wireless systems. Fourth quarter 2002 enterprise-class sales fell
six percent while SOHO sales grew 13 percent.

The growth in SOHO sales was driven by aggressive price decreases and
seasonal promotions in conjunction with robust growth in broadband connectivity
there were a record 7 million digital dubscriber line (DSL) and cable modem
subscribers added during the final three months of last year.

Linksys reported 30 percent growth over
third quarter sales, making it the most popular brand among SOHO users. Buffalo Technology reported 17 percent
growth during the same time frame. Meanwhile, Cisco and D-Link reported only two percent growth while
NETGEAR reported a six percent increase
over third quarter sales.

The market for 802.11 wireless systems will remain a hotspot of activity
through 2003 as more and more small offices opt for wireless solutions as a
cost-effective means to extend their business networking needs.

Reprinted from Small Business Computing.com

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