TLDR: The enterprise Wireless LAN (WLAN) market experienced significant double-digit growth in the second quarter of 2025, marking its second consecutive quarter of strong performance. This surge is primarily attributed to Cisco’s strategic pricing of Wi-Fi 7 access points, which accelerated adoption, and the increasing revenue generated from AI Operations licenses, according to a report by Dell’Oro Group.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – September 8, 2025 – The enterprise Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market has demonstrated a robust recovery and sustained growth, with revenues increasing by double-digits for the second consecutive quarter in Q2 2025. A recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, a leading source for market information in telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, highlights a 16 percent year-over-year growth in the WLAN market for the second quarter of 2025, signaling a strong emergence from the challenges faced in 2024.
A key driver behind this market expansion is Cisco’s aggressive pricing strategy for its Wi-Fi 7 access points. Siân Morgan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group, noted, “Cisco has kept its average Wi-Fi 7 AP price significantly below the price of Wi-Fi 6E when it was first introduced. This was a catalyst for adoption in the second quarter, encouraging the market transition to the latest Wi-Fi standard.” This strategic move has evidently spurred the widespread adoption of the new Wi-Fi standard across enterprises.
Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Operations are playing an increasingly vital role in market growth. Morgan added, “License revenues continue to play a big part in the market growth. AI Operations is becoming an important part of IT vendors’ offers. More enterprises are paying a recurring fee for licenses that enable highly valuable AI-fueled features.” This indicates a growing trend where businesses are investing in AI-driven functionalities within their WLAN infrastructure, contributing significantly to recurring revenue streams for vendors.
The Dell’Oro Group’s Q2 2025 Wireless LAN Quarterly Report also revealed several other significant market highlights:
Vendor Performance: CommScope and Ubiquiti both reported impressive WLAN revenue growth, exceeding 70 percent year-over-year.
Regional Expansion: North America led regional growth, expanding by over 20 percent, outpacing all other regions.
Cloud-Managed WLAN: Public Cloud-managed WLAN solutions experienced faster growth than the overall market, largely due to the accumulating nature of recurring license fees.
Acquisition Activity: The IT equipment sector saw a flurry of acquisition activities, which are anticipated to begin impacting the WLAN market in the third quarter of 2025.
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The report provides comprehensive, in-depth coverage of the Enterprise Outdoor and Indoor markets, Wireless LAN Controllers, and Licenses, detailing manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and unit shipments across various wireless standards, including 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 and 6E), and earlier standards. It also differentiates between Public Cloud, Premises, and Private Cloud deployments, offering a granular view of the evolving WLAN landscape.
