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Wi-Fi 7 Booms, But Adoption Lags Behind
4 Jun
Summary
- Wi-Fi 7 revenue experienced triple-digit growth in early 2026.
- Memory component costs are rising due to AI infrastructure demand.
- Only 37 percent of indoor access points shipped used Wi-Fi 7.
In the first quarter of 2026, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) revenues saw a notable 14 percent increase in unit shipments, with average selling prices beginning to rise. This escalation in prices is attributed to several vendors increasing WLAN list prices to offset the growing costs of memory components, a trend exacerbated by the boom in AI infrastructure. Despite these price adjustments, the WLAN market has sustained double-digit growth for five consecutive quarters.
Wi-Fi 7 revenue experienced impressive triple-digit growth during this period, with key players like Cisco, Ubiquiti, and Huawei dominating the Wi-Fi 7 market. However, actual adoption of Wi-Fi 7 was still relatively low, accounting for only 37 percent of all indoor access points shipped in early 2026. This gap indicates substantial headroom for vendors to introduce the latest technology and replace older systems.
Supply chain challenges, particularly the ongoing shortage of memory components, are expected to continue driving up prices and causing variable equipment lead times. Furthermore, the rapid growth in shipments of access points equipped with multi-gig and 10 Gbps interfaces is placing increased demands on campus switches. Vendors are also differentiating themselves through various new AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) feature announcements in the WLAN market.
