WLAN Switch Deployments Growing Rapidly, Study Says

While still relatively small, the market for wireless LAN switches grew 45 percent in the second quarter of 2005, according to a study released Tuesday by Dell'Oro Group.

WLAN switches enable simpler, centralized management of enterprise-class wireless networks. Total revenues for WLAN switches during the second quarter totaled $59 million, according to the study. By contrast, overall sales for all enterprise WLAN equipment market grew 17 percent in the quarter to $228 million, the study said.

Sales of so-called dependent access points, which work with wireless switches, increased 77 percent during the quarter and now account for one-fifth of all access point unit sales, the study said. The study noted that Symbol is the leading seller of WLAN switches with Cisco in second place, Aruba in third and Bluesocket in fourth.