Gartner says Asia-Pacific wireless LAN equipment shipments experienced over 75 percent growth while prices continued to fall in 2002
Announcement posted by Gartner 08 Jul 2003
Asia-Pacific wireless local-area network (LAN) equipment shipments experienced over 75 percent growth in 2002, but revenue results did not show the same explosive growth rates, according to Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).
Asia-Pacific wireless LAN equipment shipments totaled 3.4 million units in 2002, a 77.6 percent increase from 2001 shipments of 1.9 million units. However, end-user spending increased just 41.4 percent in 2002 because of falling prices on equipment.
Increased competition amongst an increasing number of vendors and widespread promotion of the technology by both vendors and operators has led to the recent boom in the wireless LAN market, said John Calvert, a principal analyst for Gartner's worldwide telecommunications and networking group.
Buoyed by its strength in the wireless LAN consumer market in Japan, Buffalo/Melco is the leading wireless equipment vendor in 2002, accounting for 30 percent of end-user spending (see Table 1). Cisco is ranked in the No. 2 position with a 12.7 percent market share.
Table 1
Top 5 Asia-Pacific Wireless LAN Equipment Vendors' by End-User Spending for 2002 (Millions of Dollars)
Spending Share (%)
Buffalo/Melco 117.0 30.0
Cisco 49.6 12.7
Samsung 26.8 6.9
D-Link 24.0 6.2
Elecom 16.0 4.1
Others 156.7 40.2
Total 390.1 100.0
Source: Gartner Dataquest (June 2003)
Buffalo/Melco also led the Asia-Pacific wireless LAN industry based on unit shipments in 2002 with 36.6 percent of the market (see Table 2). Samsung was the No. 2 vendor with a 10.3 percent market share, and D-Link, with five percent market share was placed in third place.
Table 2
Top 5 Worldwide Wireless LAN Equipment Vendors' by Unit Shipments for 2002 (Thousands of Units)
Company 2002 Shipments 2002 Market Share (%)
Buffalo/Melco 1,219.8 36.6
Samsung 342.5 10.3
D-Link 165.7 5.0
Elecom 148.0 4.4
Cisco 113.6 3.4
Others 1,347.5 40.4
Total 3,337.1 100.0
Source: Gartner Dataquest (June 2003)
In March of 2003, Cisco announced an agreement to acquire Linksys, which will result in the company slightly closing the gap with Buffalo/Melco in 2003, but there is still intense competition from Asian-based vendors. "Asia-Pacific is unique in its adoption of wireless LAN technology, said Calvert. Although the equipment complies with the same global standards as used in other regions, it has been Asian vendors selling through service providers into the consumer market that has driven market growth in most countries.
Australia was ranked fourth in Asia Pacific for both shipments and revenue. WLAN end-user revenue grew 104.1 percent to US$22.3 million (5.7% of Asia Pacific revenue), and units increasing 131.4 percent to 132,800 units (3.9% of Asia Pacific shipments).
However, most WLAN growth in Australia was in the home and home office market, with very little in the enterprise - reflected in the market share of leading vendors D-Link (21.5% of shipments), Netgear (11.6% of shipments) and Cisco (6.4% of shipments).
WLAN is a complementary lifestyle-enhancing technology to home broadband, and the growth of WLAN in the home directly parallels the rapid uptake of ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) and cable broadband in the Australian home and SOHO markets said Robin Simpson, Research Director, Mobile & Wireless.
Unlike Japan and Korea (where growth was due to telcos bundling WLAN equipment with home broadband services), in Australia the growth was driven by strong distribution of retail brands like D-Link and Netgear through large retail chains Simpson said.
Enterprises in Australia have been much slower to adopt WLAN, due to lingering security concerns, low awareness of the value of mobility, and the relatively small number of public hot spots.
There are now good technical solutions to the security concerns, Intels Centrino wireless mobility campaign is starting to raise awareness, and Azure and Singtel-Optus have announced significant public hot spot deployment plans.
The only thing missing is Telstra - clearly they have the resources and infrastructure to be a major player in enterprise-class wireless broadband, but they remain silent about any public hot spot roll-out plan Simpson said.
Additional statistics are available in the Gartner Dataquest Market Statistics report "Wireless LAN Equipment Market in Asia-Pacific and Japan in 2002." This report provides market size and the leading manufacturer's shares of shipments and end-user spending on the leading markets across Asia-Pacific. This report can be purchased on Gartner's Web site at http://www4.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=399388&ref=g_search
This analysis is provided by Gartner's worldwide Telecommunications and Networking group. This group provides an analysis for the full spectrum of telecom and networking issues. To keep up to date on the latest telecommunications issues, please visit Gartner's Telecommunications Focus Area at www.gartner.com/telecom-mkt. To purchase the report or subscribe to Gartner programs, call 408-468-8000 or go to www.gartner.com.
About Gartner, Inc.
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartners businesses consist of Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut and has over 3800 associates, including approximately 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled US$888 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.
Asia-Pacific wireless LAN equipment shipments totaled 3.4 million units in 2002, a 77.6 percent increase from 2001 shipments of 1.9 million units. However, end-user spending increased just 41.4 percent in 2002 because of falling prices on equipment.
Increased competition amongst an increasing number of vendors and widespread promotion of the technology by both vendors and operators has led to the recent boom in the wireless LAN market, said John Calvert, a principal analyst for Gartner's worldwide telecommunications and networking group.
Buoyed by its strength in the wireless LAN consumer market in Japan, Buffalo/Melco is the leading wireless equipment vendor in 2002, accounting for 30 percent of end-user spending (see Table 1). Cisco is ranked in the No. 2 position with a 12.7 percent market share.
Table 1
Top 5 Asia-Pacific Wireless LAN Equipment Vendors' by End-User Spending for 2002 (Millions of Dollars)
Spending Share (%)
Buffalo/Melco 117.0 30.0
Cisco 49.6 12.7
Samsung 26.8 6.9
D-Link 24.0 6.2
Elecom 16.0 4.1
Others 156.7 40.2
Total 390.1 100.0
Source: Gartner Dataquest (June 2003)
Buffalo/Melco also led the Asia-Pacific wireless LAN industry based on unit shipments in 2002 with 36.6 percent of the market (see Table 2). Samsung was the No. 2 vendor with a 10.3 percent market share, and D-Link, with five percent market share was placed in third place.
Table 2
Top 5 Worldwide Wireless LAN Equipment Vendors' by Unit Shipments for 2002 (Thousands of Units)
Company 2002 Shipments 2002 Market Share (%)
Buffalo/Melco 1,219.8 36.6
Samsung 342.5 10.3
D-Link 165.7 5.0
Elecom 148.0 4.4
Cisco 113.6 3.4
Others 1,347.5 40.4
Total 3,337.1 100.0
Source: Gartner Dataquest (June 2003)
In March of 2003, Cisco announced an agreement to acquire Linksys, which will result in the company slightly closing the gap with Buffalo/Melco in 2003, but there is still intense competition from Asian-based vendors. "Asia-Pacific is unique in its adoption of wireless LAN technology, said Calvert. Although the equipment complies with the same global standards as used in other regions, it has been Asian vendors selling through service providers into the consumer market that has driven market growth in most countries.
Australia was ranked fourth in Asia Pacific for both shipments and revenue. WLAN end-user revenue grew 104.1 percent to US$22.3 million (5.7% of Asia Pacific revenue), and units increasing 131.4 percent to 132,800 units (3.9% of Asia Pacific shipments).
However, most WLAN growth in Australia was in the home and home office market, with very little in the enterprise - reflected in the market share of leading vendors D-Link (21.5% of shipments), Netgear (11.6% of shipments) and Cisco (6.4% of shipments).
WLAN is a complementary lifestyle-enhancing technology to home broadband, and the growth of WLAN in the home directly parallels the rapid uptake of ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) and cable broadband in the Australian home and SOHO markets said Robin Simpson, Research Director, Mobile & Wireless.
Unlike Japan and Korea (where growth was due to telcos bundling WLAN equipment with home broadband services), in Australia the growth was driven by strong distribution of retail brands like D-Link and Netgear through large retail chains Simpson said.
Enterprises in Australia have been much slower to adopt WLAN, due to lingering security concerns, low awareness of the value of mobility, and the relatively small number of public hot spots.
There are now good technical solutions to the security concerns, Intels Centrino wireless mobility campaign is starting to raise awareness, and Azure and Singtel-Optus have announced significant public hot spot deployment plans.
The only thing missing is Telstra - clearly they have the resources and infrastructure to be a major player in enterprise-class wireless broadband, but they remain silent about any public hot spot roll-out plan Simpson said.
Additional statistics are available in the Gartner Dataquest Market Statistics report "Wireless LAN Equipment Market in Asia-Pacific and Japan in 2002." This report provides market size and the leading manufacturer's shares of shipments and end-user spending on the leading markets across Asia-Pacific. This report can be purchased on Gartner's Web site at http://www4.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=399388&ref=g_search
This analysis is provided by Gartner's worldwide Telecommunications and Networking group. This group provides an analysis for the full spectrum of telecom and networking issues. To keep up to date on the latest telecommunications issues, please visit Gartner's Telecommunications Focus Area at www.gartner.com/telecom-mkt. To purchase the report or subscribe to Gartner programs, call 408-468-8000 or go to www.gartner.com.
About Gartner, Inc.
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartners businesses consist of Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut and has over 3800 associates, including approximately 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled US$888 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.