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Recent announcements from companies such as Cisco Systems, Trapeze Networks and Meru Networks of enterprise-oriented products conforming to the draft 802.11n standard are a sign that the enterprise Wi-Fi market is poised for takeoff, according to new market data from ABI Research.

"The Draft N/MIMO consumer Wi-Fi access point market saw a dramatic upswing in 2Q07, nearly doubling in unit volume from 1Q07 to approximately one million units shipped during the second quarter,” said research analyst Paulhwa Lee. “Draft N traction in the consumer Wi-Fi market is clearly strong and there are now indications that the enterprise Wi-Fi market is poised for Draft N adoption, as well.”

With promised speeds up to 700 Mbps, Draft N and (after standard ratification, IEEE 802.11n) Wi-Fi technology will dramatically increase network throughput to the enterprise end-user.

ABI Research’s “Wi-Fi Equipment Market Share Analysis and Forecasts” provides, in spreadsheet form, highly segmented market share and forecast data for Wi-Fi radio infrastructure devices (access points, wireless routers, and wireless residential gateways), external Wi-Fi NICs, and Wi-Fi controllers. The data is updated quarterly. Both enterprise and SOHO/consumer vendor shipments are analyzed.