Open WiFi AP equipment shipments to reach $750 million by 2029

OpenWiFi access point equipment shipments will reach $750 million by 2029, up from only $50 million in 2024. This is according to the baseline scenario forecast presented in the latest report, “TIP OpenWiFi: A Reality Check and Forecasts 2024-2029,” from Maravedis LLC, a leading wireless analyst firm based in Miami, Florida.

Wi-Fi technology has evolved rapidly in the last two decades, spanning various generations of architectures and standards. The hardware disaggregation movement in the data center has now reached the network’s edge with TIP OpenWiFi for both access points and switches.

OpenWiFi, a technology in its infancy at just three years old, is already showing promise. With two years dedicated to research and development, it is gradually penetrating various markets, including multi-family, hospitality, and others. The introduction of OpenLAN switching is expected to further enhance its potential for future deployments.

OpenWIFi adoption is driven by a combination of customers in price-sensitive markets, such as India, and managed service providers (MSPs) in North America and Europe eager to diversify their suppliers.

“OpenWiFi performance and value will improve as deployments generate the volumes required for continued R&D. Only commercial success will ensure the survival and eventual prosperity of its ecosystem of developers and hardware vendors,“ says Adlane Fellah, Chief Analyst at Maravedis LLC and author of the report.

“We don’t think economics alone is the primary driver for adopting OpenWiFi. For many customers, especially MSPs, OpenWiFi allows them to innovate and control their destiny in a volatile and uncertain Wi-Fi supply chain. Combining these two drivers—better economics and more user value—is necessary for the disruption to succeed,” Fellah added.

While OpenWiFi holds promise, it is not without its challenges. The first and most significant risk is the potential for slow deployments, which could jeopardize the entire ecosystem of suppliers. Another challenge is the offensive by well-funded incumbent WLAN suppliers, who invest heavily in R&D to improve their offerings. This could make OpenWiFi adoption more difficult for CIOs and CTOs. Additionally, some OpenWiFi vendors risk becoming de-facto duopolies, stifling innovation and discouraging smaller players from entering the market.

The TIP OpenWiFi report is based on interviews with industry leaders and companies deploying OpenWiFi. It includes a detailed view of the latest OpenLAN switching offering, the state of the current deployments in each segment, a risk assessment, and various forecast scenarios for OpenWiFi access point markets for 2024-2029.
BCS Bureau