7 March 2008
By Alex Scroxton
Further margin cuts on routers
seem inevitable after Context SalesWatch Distribution data for the UK market in
January showed a decline in ASPs on 802.11n-based kit.
Context analysts revealed that the
average selling price through distribution dropped to €111 (£84.50), down from €119 on
December, with equipment from Linksys, Belkin and US Robotics among the worst
hit.
However prices on other
vendors, including Netgear and D-Link, remained stable while the price of Apple’s AirPort
Extreme Base Station actually went up.
Aruba EMEA marketing
director Roger Hockaday suggested that 802.11n’s higher consumer penetration
rate – when compared to the enterprise – was likely to affect price cutting.
He said: “All these vendors
make it very competitive in the consumer wireless marketplace, so perhaps it’s
not surprising we’re starting to see price pressure.”
“I don’t know of any
pressure in the enterprise sector yet, though,” he added.
Nor was Sarah Guy, marketing manager
at networking kit vendor ZyXEL, surprised that prices were
dropping.
“The product set is becoming
more mainstream, so you will see a lot of large multiples running aggressive
sales promotions,” she said.
ZyXEL has chosen to steer
clear of the 802.11n sector for the time being, until the standard is ratified.
Following the most recent meeting of Task Group N, the IEEE body that is
currently developing the upgraded standards, the delayed project is unlikely to be ready before the middle of 2009, although Hockaday pointed out
that this would not affect take-up.
