BYOD and tablets lead to a booming Wi-Fi equipment market

Sales of Wi-Fi and other WLAN (wireless local area network) equipment are booming as a result of increasing tablet use and business BYOD (bring your own device) policies, according to new figures.

The IDC figures show that the overall market for WLAN equipment in Australia grew by a dramatic 26% year-on-year during the third quarter of 2013.

The business and enterprise segment of the market, representing 56% of the Australian market, recorded a remarkable 27% growth rate.

The segment includes public facing Wi-Fi devices in stadia, city council buildings and shopping centres.

In a statement, IDC says BYOD and a more recent trend called choose your own device (CYOD), where employees get a choice of different work-supplied devices, are key to enterprise Wi-Fi use.

“Research indicates that 80% of all tablets currently being used in Australia are Wi-Fi only devices. In addition to that, more than 7.5 million people used their mobile phones to connect to the internet in 2013.

“Moreover, the IDC Asia/Pacific Enterprise Mobility Maturity Model revealed that close to three-quarters of Australian companies are planning to increase their mobility spend in 2014. Together, these statistics indicate good growth potential for the enterprise WLAN market.”

The government, retail and mining sectors dominate Wi-Fi deployment in Australia.

The figures also show consumer segment of the market, representing 35% of the market, also recorded strong growth, with a 24% year-on-year growth in the market.

The weakest segment of the market is from internet service providers which, unlike in other counties, are reluctant to offer Wi-Fi access points to supplement their 3G or 4G services, and currently account for less than 1% of the Australian market.

Meanwhile, Cisco remains the dominant brand, currently accounting for more than 55% of Australian Wi-Fi deployments.