OVERVIEW
Gartner defines the enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure market as the hardware and software that enables local connectivity for users and devices. The infrastructure components include enterprise-class wired switches and wireless access points, and the management software that secures, manages, tests, optimizes and automates the network.
The U.S. enterprise access networking market is the access layer of enterprise networking: the wired and wireless infrastructure that connects users and devices inside offices, campuses, hotels, hospitals, schools, and multifamily properties. In Gartner’s framing, that includes enterprise wired switches, wireless APs, and management software. This is the most relevant market definition for vendors such as Cisco, HPE Aruba, Juniper Mist, Extreme, and Ruckus.
In the U.S., this market is being driven by three overlapping refresh cycles: migration from Wi-Fi 5/6 to Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, replacement of aging campus switches with higher-power PoE and multigig gear, and tighter integration of networking with cloud management, segmentation, and zero-trust security. Dell’Oro says campus switching rebounded in 2025 and expects 2026 demand to be supported by network refreshes, IoT expansion, and preparation for AI-related workloads; IDC likewise reported enterprise WLAN growth in 2025, with Wi-Fi 7 becoming a major revenue driver by late 2025.
SIZE AND SHARE (2026)
Because a public U.S.-only combined access-networking total is hard to find, the most defensible 2026 view is a triangulated estimate. For wireless, one public forecast sizes the North America enterprise WLAN market at $9.69 billion in 2026. Separately, another source says North America held 34.5% of the broader enterprise network equipment market, which is directionally consistent with North America being the largest enterprise networking region. Dell’Oro also describes campus switching as a distinct growth market entering 2026. Putting those together, a reasonable estimate is that the U.S. enterprise access networking market in 2026 is roughly in the low teens of billions of dollars, with wireless LAN contributing the majority and campus switching making up the balance.
My best estimate is about $11 billion to $13 billion for the U.S. in 2026, with the split roughly 65%–75% WLAN / cloud-managed wireless and 25%–35% wired campus switching and associated access-layer control software. That split is an inference, not a directly published U.S. total: it is based on the North America WLAN forecast, the fact that the U.S. is the largest market within North America, and the continued but smaller campus-switch segment described by Dell’Oro.
For competitive share, the cleanest public data are not U.S.-only, but they are still directionally useful. IDC’s 3Q25 enterprise WLAN tracker showed Cisco at 37.4%, HPE at 19.3%, and Ubiquiti at 11.3% globally; Dell’Oro said HPE tied Huawei for No. 2 in campus switching after adding Juniper, while Cisco remained the vendor to chase. For a U.S. view, the pecking order is generally similar, but I would treat those percentages as global proxies, not exact U.S. shares.
TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Wi-Fi 7 is the biggest near-term technology catalyst. IDC said Wi-Fi 7 represented 39.7% of dependent access point revenue in 4Q25, up sharply from a year earlier, and Dell’Oro said Cisco led early Wi-Fi 7 indoor AP revenue share in 2025 while forecasting strong WLAN growth in 2026. That points to 2026 being a major U.S. upgrade year for schools, hospitality, healthcare, multifamily, and enterprise campuses that need higher density, lower latency, and more deterministic wireless performance.
6 GHz policy expansion in the U.S. is another tailwind. The FCC adopted rules in early 2026 to allow additional unlicensed operation in the 6 GHz band through geofenced variable power devices, extending the practical value of 6 GHz spectrum for next-generation Wi-Fi. For the U.S. market specifically, that matters because access-layer buying decisions increasingly depend on whether new APs can exploit wider channels and cleaner spectrum in dense environments.
Cloud-managed networking and AI-assisted operations are moving from “nice to have” to baseline. Gartner’s definition already includes management software as part of the market, and Cisco’s 2026 wireless study emphasizes ROI from wireless investments and growing demand for AI-driven operations. In practice, buyers increasingly expect centralized lifecycle management, telemetry, automated troubleshooting, and policy-based segmentation rather than just standalone switches and APs.
Security is being pushed into the access layer. NIST’s zero-trust guidance explicitly shifts security away from simple perimeter assumptions and toward users, assets, and resources. In market terms, that supports stronger demand for NAC, identity-based policy, dynamic segmentation, and tighter integration between wired/wireless access and security controls.
Power, multigig, and IoT density are lifting wired access requirements. Dell’Oro highlights IoT expansion, PoE demand, and price pressure tied to AI-era component shortages as factors shaping campus switching. That means the wired half of the access market is not disappearing; it is being upgraded for more endpoints, more edge devices, more cameras/sensors, and more APs that need higher uplink and power budgets.