The Australian networking infrastructure market was stagnant in 2018 with declines in enterprise router sales and in the wireless local area network market.
Research from IDC revealed the overall networking infrastructure market grew by 0.81 percent in 2018, with growth in the ethernet switch market countering the declines in router and WLAN sales.
However, the research firm said this stagnation was temporary, with 5G and a new 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard for routers expected to drive demand moving forward.
“Overall, the networking infrastructure market experienced stagnant growth in 2018. Growth achieved by the ethernet switch market was offset by the decline in the router and wireless LAN markets,” IDC Australia networking infrastructure market analyst Ahmar Karimullah said.
“Mobile Networks upgrade to 5G and wireless LAN access points refresh to the 802.11ax standard will drive demand and once again, drive positive growth back to the networking infrastructure market."
Enterprise ethernet switch sales increased by 10.1 percent, with a five-year high of $857 million in revenue for 2018. The growth was fuelled by an increase in high-speed port shipments (25, 50 and 100 gigabits per second).
The enterprise router market meanwhile was down 6.2 percent at $459 million, due to lower spending from service providers preparing to upgrade to 5G; while WLAN sales were down 11.9 percent to $261 million, with a five-year low in consumer and retail sales and enterprises holding off on the new 802.11ax standard.
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