Optical transport, mobile RAN equipment sales drive 12-month year-on-year revenue growth: Dell’Oro

Aug. 29, 2019

After three years of decline, telecom equipment sales actually began to pick up in the third quarter of 2018, asserts Dell’Oro.

Stephen Hardy

While it has been accepted wisdom that telco equipment purchasing enthusiasm has lost steam, Dell’Oro says that vendor revenues in the space have shown 6% growth year-over-year for the 12 months ended with the second quarter of 2019. Sales of optical transport and mobile radio access network (RAN) gear get the most credit, the market research firm says in its newly minted “Advanced Research: Telecom Equipment Market Report.”

After three years of decline, telecom equipment sales actually began to pick up in the third quarter of 2018, asserts Dell’Oro. Optical transport spending has increased 8% in the 12 months ending 2Q19, driven by the need for technology upgrades in metro and long-haul networks, where per-wavelength transmission rates are climbing beyond 100 Gbps. Meanwhile, spending on mobile RAN equipment has grown 10% during the same time period, thanks to LTE technology deployments and the first wave of 5G mobile roll outs.

The usual vendor suspects have benefited the most from the uptick, says Dell’Oro. The top seven vendors for the past 12 months were Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, ZTE, Cisco, Ciena, and Samsung. Combined, the seven companies accounted for 80% of the revenue spend on telecom equipment, says the market research firm. Huawei, of course, is facing a technology supply challenge due to its placement on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List – a fate ZTE escaped a year ago. Dell’Oro points out that Huawei has yet to feel much effect from its problems (see “Huawei first half 2019 revenue proves ban proof”), while ZTE has recovered enough to regain a double-digit share of the market for the first half of 2019.

The “Advanced Research: Telecom Equipment Market Report” derives its data from a compilation of the findings of seven research programs conducted by Dell'Oro Group: Broadband Access and Home Networking, Carrier IP Telephony, Microwave Transmission & Mobile Backhaul, Mobile Radio Access Network, Optical Transport, Router & Carrier Ethernet Switch, and Wireless Packet Core.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.