Dell’Oro finds Wi-Fi 7 gaining traction as enterprise WLAN income rises and AI reshapes vendor methods
The enterprise wi-fi LAN (WLAN) market is off to a robust begin in 2025, with Dell’Oro Group reporting an 11% year-over-year income enhance in Q1 — pushed by rising adoption of Wi-Fi 7 and a shift in vendor methods because the Wi-Fi 6E period nears its finish.
For the primary time, all main WLAN distributors provided enterprise-class Wi-Fi 7 gear within the quarter, in keeping with Dell’Oro Analysis Director Siân Morgan. Whereas many producers have been managing surplus Wi-Fi 6E stock, the steadiness is now tilting towards newer, extra succesful Wi-Fi 7 gear.
“Some producers have been coping with massive inventories of Wi-Fi 6E, and have been prioritizing shipments of the older know-how, which nonetheless has robust adoption,” Morgan famous. “Now we’re coming to the tip of Wi-Fi 6E progress section, the market will shift over to Wi-Fi 7 in bigger numbers.”
Wi-Fi 7: Quick uptake, robust efficiency, decrease costs
Dell’Oro’s report discovered that Wi-Fi 7 accounted for 12% of enterprise WLAN items shipped worldwide in Q1 2025. That’s a noteworthy leap for a know-how nonetheless in early commercialization — and it aligns with broader market momentum. As beforehand reported by RCR Wi-fi Information, Wi-Fi 7 is on a quicker adoption curve than Wi-Fi 6 or 6E, with chipset suppliers like MediaTek pushing aggressively into the broadband and client markets.
On the enterprise facet of issues, latest trials carried out by the Wi-fi Broadband Alliance (WBA), in collaboration with AT&T, CommScope (RUCKUS Networks) and Intel, have demonstrated Wi-Fi 7’s important efficiency enhancements over earlier generations. These real-world assessments showcased almost double the throughput of Wi-Fi 6E at 5 GHz utilizing 40 MHz channels and sustained greater than 1 Gbps throughput at 40 ft with 160 MHz channels on the 6 GHz band. Such outcomes underscore Wi-Fi 7’s readiness to help demanding purposes like immersive XR, cloud computing, AI-driven automation and industrial IoT.
Wi-Fi 7’s enchantment is grounded in technical upgrades together with multi-link operation (MLO), 320 MHz channel bandwidth and decrease latency. These options are enticing not just for enterprise networks but additionally for properties and small companies needing larger capability and higher multi-device help.
But, Dell’Oro discovered that common promoting costs for Wi-Fi 7 stay decrease than for Wi-Fi 6E gear, suggesting that early progress is being pushed by value-oriented distributors relatively than high-margin enterprise suppliers. CommScope, Ubiquiti and Excessive Networks have been singled out because the fastest-growing distributors within the enterprise WLAN house this quarter.
North America leads, AI shapes WLAN future
Whereas international shipments grew, Dell’Oro noticed a pronounced surge in demand from North America, with different areas lagging behind. This regional imbalance might mirror earlier enterprise refresh cycles within the U.S. and extra aggressive rollouts from North American service suppliers.
Distributors are additionally banking on synthetic intelligence and machine studying to distinguish their WLAN choices. In response to Dell’Oro, AI fashions are more and more getting used for cross-domain troubleshooting, front-line help instruments and dynamic dashboards — all of which may drive future recurring software program revenues.
“Distributors are placing growth efforts into AI fashions to boost WLAN operations,” stated Morgan. “We count on these developments to repay.”
Market distractions: HPE-Juniper deal faces authorized scrutiny
One cloud on the horizon is the U.S. Division of Justice’s (DoJ) ongoing effort to dam Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. The case is ready to go to trial on July 9, 2025, with HPE reaffirming its dedication to the deal.
The end result may have ripple results throughout the enterprise networking house, notably if the deal’s collapse reshuffles vendor methods or dampens investor confidence in additional consolidation.
Wanting forward
With Wi-Fi 7 making speedy inroads, enterprise patrons are more and more weighing next-generation capabilities over legacy investments. The slowdown in Wi-Fi 6E adoption, surging North American demand and an AI-fueled evolution in WLAN operations all level towards a dynamic 12 months forward.
Because the enterprise connectivity panorama continues to shift, distributors with robust cloud and AI methods — and people aligned with Wi-Fi 7’s worth curve — might maintain the higher hand.
