August 4, 2026 | Press Release

Memory Component Shortages Point to Early Wi-Fi 8 Introduction

According to Dell’Oro Group

Wi-Fi 7 Revenues Will Peak Higher Than Any Prior Wi-Fi Version

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. 
According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, enterprise class Wi-Fi 8 introduction may be brought forward to 2027 so vendors can circumvent the lack of DDR4 memory chips.

“With prices rising, we expect triple-digit growth in Wi-Fi 7 revenue in 2026,” said Siân Morgan, Senior Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Wi-Fi 7 still has strong potential.  In its peak year, we expect enterprise class Wi-Fi 7 to generate more revenue than Wi-Fi 6E did across its entire lifecycle.  But the faster vendors can change AP designs to decrease dependency on the highest-cost memory components, the more competitive they can be pricewise. This represents a strong incentive to move to Wi-Fi 8,” continued Morgan.

Additional highlights from the Wireless LAN 5-Year July 2026 Forecast Report:

• Wi-Fi 7 revenue growth will continue for a further three years.
• Public Cloud-managed WLAN will continue to grow faster than the total market.
• AIOps features are driving software revenue higher, and enterprise willingness to pay is evident in the data.
• WLAN market revenue growth is expected, even if higher prices suppress some demand.

About the Report
The Dell’Oro Group Wireless LAN 5-Year Forecast Report offers complete, in-depth coverage of the Enterprise Outdoor and Indoor markets, Wireless LAN Controllers with tables containing manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and unit shipments by the following wireless standards: 802.11bn (Wi-Fi 8), 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 and 6E [6 GHz]), 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) Wave 1 vs. Wave 2, 802.11n, and historic IEEE 802.11 standards. The Enterprise market is forecast by Cloud vs. Premises Managed, as well as by macro region of the world.