Skip to main content

Wi-Fi Mesh Access Point Incompatibility Issue

Wi-Fi meshing, which allows wireless access nodes to achieve a longer range by using each other as repeaters, is becoming increasingly common in several markets, reports In-Stat.

More than 50,000 Wi-Fi mesh access point (AP) unit shipments were reported in 2006, with almost 100,000 unit shipments expected in 2010, the high-tech market research firm says.

Incompatibility among systems, however, is a potential hurdle for the growth of the technology.
"There is no industry standard for mesh networking, yet, so interoperability between mesh vendors continues to be problematic -- customers must purchase their Wi-Fi mesh networking gear from one vendor," says Gemma Tedesco, In-Stat analyst.

"However, Wi-Fi clients are standardized and prolific, providing a ready and waiting installed
base for Wi-Fi mesh networks." Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

- Although Tropos has the largest mind-share in municipal mesh networking, Nortel, Strix, BelAir, and SkyPilot made aggressive pushes into the market in 2006.

- Cisco is perceived as a wildcard in this market, as it just launched Wi-Fi mesh APs in late 2005, but it is using its strong IT channels into businesses and government networks.

- Throughout 2006, most Wi-Fi mesh vendors tied their growth to municipal network build-outs, which have been few and far between.

Popular posts from this blog

AI Investment Drives Semiconductor Demand

The global semiconductor industry is experiencing a historic acceleration driven by surging investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and computing power. According to the latest IDC worldwide market study, 2025 marks a defining year in which AI's pervasive impact reconfigures industry economics and propels record growth across the compute segment of the semiconductor market. Semiconductor Market Development IDC’s latest data reveals an insightful projection: The compute segment of the semiconductor market is on track to grow 36 percent in 2025, reaching $349 billion. This segment, which encompasses logic chips powering CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators, will sustain a robust 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2030. These numbers underscore not only current momentum but a structural shift driven by large-scale adoption of AI workloads spanning cloud, edge, and on-premises deployment models. The scale of investment is unprecedented. As organizations ...