Technavio is forecasting that the global cable modem termination system (CMTS) market will grow at a CAGR of more than 8% from 2017 to 2021. The market is segmented based on application (residential and commercial) and geography (the Americas, EMEA, and APAC). The forecast covers both traditional CMTSs and CCAP equipment.
Technavio says three factors are contributing to the growth of the global CMTS market:
- Growth of customers opting for cable network-based unified services
- Operational efficiency with minimal cost and good scalability
- Rising bandwidth demand from consumers
Modern networks come in the form of multiple access networks, which can connect customers to a core network based on IP technology. These access networks include fiber-optics or coaxial cable networks connected to fixed locations or customers connected through WiFi as well as to 3G/4G networks connected to mobile users. This can make it impossible to identify whether the next-generation network is a fixed or mobile network and whether broadband wireless access would be used for both fixed and mobile services.
Jujhar Singh, a research analyst at Technavio, said, "With the rapid growth in mobile voice and data usage and the emergence of new multifunction, multi-radio handheld devices, there is an emerging interest in seamless mobility. To bridge these rapidly upcoming technologies, fixed-line operators and cable companies need to carefully weigh optimal combinations, which help extract better performance from existing assets. Wireless mobility has seen faster growth over the years, due to the increasing presence of mobile devices."
As newer over-the-top (OTT) video services and consumer devices are creating demand for cable networks, vendors are competing for new customers and to retain existing customers. By rolling out new services and gigabit tiers, multiple system operators (MSOs) will have to expand capacity significantly.
"Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture-based CCAP solutions can support only 24 to 32 channels per service group and are not designed for supporting DOCSIS 3.1 at scale. By using these platforms, MSOs would be required to significantly increase capital expenditures to challenge gigabit billboard rates and grow at a steady pace," said Jujhar.