The first quarter of this year saw record worldwide shipments of wireless LAN equipment, with an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to a study released Monday by Infonetics Resarch. <P> Total worldwide revenues for WLAN equipment were $767.6 million for the quarter with 12.2 million units shipped, according to the study. The study predicted a two percent rise in revenues by the first quarter of next year. <P> WLAN switches were particularly hot, with the number of ports sold increasing 44 percent, the study found. Revenue for wireless switches grew 13 percent in the quarter to $52.2 million. The study predicts massive growth in this segement, with revenues expected to grow to just under $700 million by 2008. <P> Sales for wireless broadband routers increased 34 percent. It predicted this segment would grow quickly during the rest of the year as new technology, particularly equipment using multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) becomes more popular. <P> Cisco Systems continued as the leading WLAN vendor with a 17 percent overall market share, the study found. D-Link is now in second place, surpassing Linksys, which is owned by Cisco. Linksys is in third place and Netgear is in fourth, according to the study.
