Shipments of Wi-Fi mesh AP is expected to grow from 50,000 units in 2006 to almost 100,000 units in 2010. However, In-Stat predicts that incompatibility among systems may be a potential hurdle for the growth of the technology.

The market research firm also reports that although Tropos has the largest mindshare 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 Access Points 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.

Source:  Global Sources