NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The past 12 months have been erratic for the Wi-Fi equipment industry. While shipments remained sluggish in the second half of 2024, there was a growing sense of optimism for 2025, with a feeling that the turbulence and uncertainty that had plagued the industry since 2020 had finally been replaced by stability and predictability. The industry was reassured that the periodic equipment refresh cycles of Internet Service Providers (ISP) and enterprises were back on track, and the gradual acceleration of Wi-Fi 7 was expected to provide sustained momentum in the market. However, these assumptions were quickly upended in the first half of 2025. Tariff threats and a breakdown of established trading relations reintroduced unpredictability into the market. In the short term, this led to a dramatic surge in shipments as purchasers accelerated orders to get ahead of tariffs. This was particularly pronounced in North America, where tariff threats coincided with planned Wi-Fi 7 deployments by major tier 1 US ISPs, including AT&T and Comcast. Reflecting this, global technology intelligence firm ABI Research recorded that total shipments of Wi-Fi equipment into the North American market jumped 38.3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in the second quarter of 2025.
"While many are delighted by the shipment spike in 1H 2025, celebrations may be short-lived because much of the expansion was driven by pulled-forward demand rather than the creation of new demand," said Andrew Spivey, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. "Furthermore, the potential for additional unanticipated tariffs or trade restrictions continues to loom ominously in the background, creating a sense of general economic uncertainty which will plague the market going forward."
Toward the end of the decade, the introduction of Wi-Fi 8 is expected to deliver another major boost to the market. Early prototypes are anticipated next year, with annual shipments projected to rise from just over 0.4 million pre-standard units in 2027 to 81.4 million by 2030. Unlike earlier Wi-Fi generations, which emphasized faster throughputs, Wi-Fi 8 is designed to achieve "Ultra High-Reliability." While this shift will enhance user experiences, reliability gains are more difficult to communicate than simple speed metrics. As a result, the value proposition may be less compelling to ISPs, which have traditionally focused on data rates.
"In order for Wi-Fi 8 to gain strong adoption by consumers and enterprises, the Wi-Fi industry will need to completely reorientate their go-to-market strategies for the technology," Spivey continues. "This will involve creating clear and transparent benchmarks which consumers can use to measure Wi-Fi 8's promised reliability gains and devising methods to successfully promote the Multi-Access Point Coordination feature."
These findings are from ABI Research's Residential, Enterprise, and Industrial WLAN Markets and Technologies Market Dataset, part of the company's Wi-Fi & WLAN Technologies & Markets research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights. Based on extensive primary interviews, market data reports present in-depth analysis of key market trends and factors for a specific technology.
About ABI Research
ABI Research is a global technology intelligence firm uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology solution providers and end-market companies. We serve as the bridge that seamlessly connects these two segments by providing exclusive research and expert guidance to drive successful technology implementations and deliver strategies proven to attract and retain customers.
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