Industry Reports

WBA Annual Industry Report 2025

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is delighted to present its highly anticipated WBA Industry Report 2025, highlighting significant trends and developments in the Wi-Fi and connectivity sector. Based on insights from 170 global industry executives, the report underscores a surge in confidence and investment in Wi-Fi technologies, with a focus on OpenRoaming and next-generation standards like Wi-Fi 7.

Key findings reveal that 81% of respondents plan OpenRoaming deployments by 2026, marking an 18.9% increase from the previous year. Confidence in Wi-Fi investment is also on the rise, with 60% of respondents expressing increased optimism. Enhanced network security and seamless integration between Wi-Fi and cellular networks were cited as major drivers of adoption.

The report also highlights the growing deployment of advanced technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi Halow and Wi-Fi Sensing, alongside key updates on Private 5G and Wi-Fi Networks, the impact of AI and the future evolution of Wi-Fi 8 and 6G.  Furthermore, the importance of the 6GHz spectrum and the anticipated growth in traffic at transportation hubs are emphasized.

WBA CEO Tiago Rodrigues expressed optimism about the expanding role of Wi-Fi innovations, stating that technologies like OpenRoaming and Wi-Fi 7 are pivotal in simplifying connectivity, reducing costs, and enhancing user experiences.

The comprehensive report also covers key updates on market segments such as residential Wi-Fi, enterprise networks, and public spaces, while providing an overview of WBA’s strategic priorities for the future.

WBA Annual Industry Report 2024

The WBA Annual Industry Report 2024 is a must-read for anyone wanting to know exactly where Wi-Fi is and where it’s headed. Based on input from 200 enterprises, governments, fixed and mobile operators, vendors and other organizations worldwide, the WBA Annual Industry Report 2024 showcases how Wi-Fi technology continues to evolve in ways that anticipate the needs of consumers, businesses, enterprise verticals, smart cities and service providers.

Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 top the list of wireless technologies that network operators, ISPs, device and chipset vendors, enterprises and other companies plan to deploy by the end of 2024 — ahead of CBRS, DAS and private 4G/5G.

Furthermore, confidence in investment across the sector is rising with 58% saying they are more confident in investing in Wi-Fi compared to a year ago even though the business model remains the most pressing challenge for new deployments. 6GHz spectrum availability also remains front of mind with two thirds deeming it an important issue for 2024.

The report also explores how Wi-Fi benefits 14 vertical markets, including rural communities, connected transportation, health care, aviation and manufacturing. It also provides an update on Wi-Fi’s technology evolution, such as IEEE 802.11bf WLAN Sensing, 802.11bh Randomized MAC Addresses and 802.11bi Enhanced Data Privacy.

WBA Annual Industry Report 2023

The last twelve months have been exceptionally rich for Wi-Fi both in terms of innovation and market adoption boosted by a favorable regulatory environment. There are more than 18 billion Wi-Fi devices in use today, and Wi-Fi generates an economic value of $3.5 trillion. Wi-Fi remains the dominant indoor technology and enjoys a momentum driven by a combination of factors. These include: the impact of the pandemic on internet usage (with Wi-Fi traffic doubling ); the game-changing addition of the 6GHz spectrum band around the world; the rapid commercial availability and market adoption of Wi-Fi 6/6E and the flurry of innovative services ranging from OpenRoaming™ to Wi-Fi sensing.

Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 promises to supercharge deterministic Wi-Fi with new techniques— such as multi-link operation and time-sensitive networking—while leveraging spectrum dynamically with automatic frequency coordination. Industries from hospitality to healthcare and transportation to smart cities are embracing this predictable WiFi to support new use cases and business models.

To find out more, download the WBA Industry Report 2023.