Despite spike in 10G PON sales, broadband access equipment market drops double digits in 3Q19: Dell’Oro

Dec. 5, 2019
The market research firm states in its newly released 3Q 2019 Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report that revenue in the space dropped 12% year-on-year, thanks to declining interested in xDSL gear.

The third quarter of 2019 was a good one if you were selling 10G PON equipment – but not for everyone else in the broadband systems niche, according to Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm states in its newly released 3Q 2019 Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report that revenue in the space dropped 12% year-on-year, thanks to declining interested in xDSL gear.

Sales of XGS-PON optical line terminals (OLTs) jumped 371% versus the year-ago quarter, while XG-PON1 OLT ports and CPE shipments also enjoyed success in 3Q19, says Dell’Oro. Overall, demand for fiber to the premises (FTTP) equipment remains robust, according to the market research firm’s broadband equipment analyst.

“Operators’ continued push to increase their fiber investments is resulting in strong Y/Y gains in PON OLT ports,” said Jeff Heynen, senior research director at Dell’Oro. “Though XGS-PON continues to grow rapidly, 2.5 Gbps GPON remains the workhorse in the market.”

The interest in PON systems comes at the expense of xDSL. Port shipments of such equipment slipped 28% versus 3Q18, with all DSL variants showing weakness. Cable MSO spending on cable access concentrator equipment also continued to show weakness, down 31% year-on-year to come in at $287 million. A decline in CCAP license purchases by North American operators served as the primary catalyst for the drop off, according to the report.

The Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides covers the broadband access market with tables illustrating manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments for cable, DSL, and PON equipment. Covered equipment includes Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAP); Distributed Access Architectures (DAA); DSL access multiplexers (DSLAMs, including ADSL/ADSL2+, G.SHDSL, VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b, and G.fast), PON OLTs; CPE for cable, DSL, and PON; as well as with SOHO WLAN equipment, including mesh routers.

For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.

For more information on FTTx technology and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.

To stay abreast of FTTx, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers Newsletter.