Dell’Oro Group forecast WLAN revenue would drop 13 per cent in 2024, but held out hope for signs of a recovery by year-end.

While light on revenue numbers, the research company stated lower prices are exacerbating depressed demand.

Sian Morgan, research director at Dell’Oro Group, stated “digestion of previous WLAN shipments and the cautiousness of some enterprises due to macro-economic conditions” led to a dramatic drop in revenue over the past two quarters.

“We expect to see signs of recovery in Q4 2024 once excess inventory is flushed through the system,” she added.

Morgan stated with IT budgets stretched, enterprises are under pressure to figure out how generative AI can revolutionise their businesses, but companies also need high performing networks to enable digital transformation.

“Vendors sensitive to these pressures are releasing cost-effective Wi-Fi 7 APs which will help accelerate the adoption of this latest generation of Wi-Fi,” Morgan stated.

Dell’Oro noted vendors that are sensitive to eroding prices are cutting back on some functions of their Wi-Fi 7 APs, “and this is expected to increase the adoption of the new technology over the next five years”.

While Wi-Fi 6E adoption is still growing, the research company predicts it will be eclipsed by Wi-Fi 7 next year

On the plus side, AIOps features are driving up licence revenue while delivering value to enterprises facing labour issues.