The Global Market for Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment is Projected to Reach US$3.6 Billion by 2020

Focus on Wi-Fi Monetization Strategies Drives the Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment Market, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry segments, trends, growth drivers, market share, size and demand forecasts on the global Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment market. The global market for Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment is projected to reach US$3.6 billion by 2020, driven by the rising focus on Wi-Fi monetization by both mobile network operators (MNOs) and multiple system operators (MSOs).   

The Wi-Fi technology has witnessed phenomenal changes and improvements in performance, over the years, to emerge as an essential and indispensable component of wireless communication. This transformation to full-featured, carrier-class network capacities is expected to revolutionize business and service models supported by Wi-Fi. The global Wi-Fi market is on the verge of significant transformation with service providers preparing to move away from best-effort networks and roll out carrier-grade Wi-Fi networks. Key benefits offered by carrier grade Wi-Fi networks include extreme scalability with thousands of access nodes, wider area of mobility as it allows continuity of a session even while moving between Wi-Fi access nodes, integration with the  radio access network (RAN), and compatibility with Hotspot 2.0, among others.

In the mobile industry, the fuel for growth and development is the availability of mobile spectrum. One of the major factors spurring MNO interest in Wi-Fi is the global spurt in mobile data traffic, which in turn is amplifying the attractiveness of mobile data offloading. The need to stay ahead of the data explosion curve is encouraging MNOs to expand their Wi-Fi footprint. “Offloading” is a critical strategy for freeing up bandwidth on cellular bands. Key benefits offered to MNOs include the ability to enhance quality of service (QoS), lower CAPEX and OPEX as compared to new spectrum licensing and upgrading to newer mobile technologies, improved reach to customers, and ability to launch newer 3G cellular services.

A large percentage of MNOs prefer to deploy their own Wi-Fi largely because of the fact that ownership of the Wi-Fi network gives greater control over QoS in terms of voice quality in Wi-Fi calling and also allows MNOs to develop additional revenue streams and effectively monetize the Wi-Fi network. Even MNOs planning to move to LTE/4G network will require a Wi-Fi strategy. This is primarily because although LTE offers sufficient spectrum and bandwidth capacity, consumer data usage will continue to grow exponentially eventually clogging up 4G networks. Investments in Wi-Fi equipment to expand the capacity of the data pipe will be relatively cheaper than expanding the capacity through licensed LTE spectrum and equipment.

While MNO investments in carrier grade Wi-Fi is guided largely by the need to broaden the network data pipe and offload radio access network (RAN) traffic to Wi-Fi, for cable MSOs deployment is guided by the need to support wireless services and quad-play offerings. Carrier Wi-Fi is strategic to MSOs to offer high quality wireless services such as enterprise voice, TV everywhere, online gaming, health monitoring, media streaming and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services. Unlike MNOs, it is easy for MSOs to leverage their already strong Wi-Fi presence in residential homes to encourage customer migration to premium Wi-Fi services.

As stated by the new market research report on Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment, the United States represents the largest market worldwide. Asia-Pacific is set to emerge as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 34.1% over the analysis period, supported by growing deficit in 3G mobile spectrum, escalation in the number of mobile subscribers, development of telecom infrastructure, and the resulting focus on upgrading legacy Wi-Fi networks to Carrier Grade Wi-Fi.

Major players covered in the report include Alcatel-Lucent, Aruba, Cisco Systems, Inc., Ericsson, Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Development LP, and Ruckus Wireless, Inc.

The research report titled “Carrier Wi-Fi Equipment: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, growth drivers, product innovations and strategic industry activities of major companies worldwide. The report provides market estimates and projections for revenues from carrier Wi-Fi Equipment at the vendor’s level in US$ Thousand for all major geographic regions- US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America), and Rest of World. The report also provides estimates and projections for carrier Wi-Fi Equipment categories - WiFi Controllers and WiFi Access Points.

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