10/10/2006 -- Wired connectivity is so last millennium, says market watcher Infonetics Research. Mobility is the thing, Infonetics argues, and global customers -- including consumer and enterprise buyers alike -- are lining up to get it.

For example, Infonetics points out, worldwide RAN equipment sales jumped by 20 percent (reaching $8.9 billion) between Q1 and Q2 of 2006, while WiMAX equipment sales exploded by 107 percent (reaching $141 million) during the same period. And even though wireless LAN equipment sales dropped by 7 percent (falling to $654 million), WLAN growth should be steady through 2009 -- driven by strong WLAN switch and controller sales.

"The mobility market is diversifying, with wireless mesh and WiMAX beginning to ramp up in addition to cellular and WiFi technologies, giving service providers more options when deploying wireless networks," said Infonetics research analyst Richard Webb in a prepared release. "Over the coming few years, these technologies will become increasingly interoperable, helping to edge us closer to the dream of ubiquitous wireless broadband."

Elsewhere, Infonetics says, worldwide RAN sales could hit $37 billion by 2009, while the total number of mobile subscribers could top 3 billion over the same period. And on the WiMAX tip, equipment sales should reach $3 billion in 2009 -- an increase of more than 2100 percent over this yearís Q2 status quo. At present, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of total WiMAX revenues are derived from CPE, while just 35 percent come from base stations.

Finally, worldwide WLAN equipment sales are projected to reach $3.6 billion in 2009. In the second quarter of this year, sales of enterprise products accounted for 47 percent of WLAN equipment revenues; residential products 45 percent; and service provider products 8 percent. By 2009, however, sales of enterprise products should account for 67 percent of total WLAN equipment revenues.

Cisco is tops in the WLAN equipment segment, followed by Symbol (which was recently acquired by Motorola), and both Aruba and Trapeze, who are tied for third. Cisco is also tops in worldwide service provider WLAN equipment sales, with almost two-thirds (62 percent) of all revenues, while Linksys is number one in residential WLAN equipment sales, followed by Netgear and D-Link. -Stephen Swoyer