Network operators worldwide spent $3.3 billion on broadband access equipment during the first quarter of 2021, according to Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm states in its new 1Q 2021 Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report that the figure, while a 6% sequential decline from the record levels of 4Q20, represented an 18% year-over-year improvement. Sales of PON OLT ports, particularly of the 10G PON variety, proved the primary catalyst, with XGS-PON OLT spending jumping by more than 500% versus the year-ago quarter.
Dell’Oro added that PON ONT revenues declined sequentially alongside the overall broadband revenue shrinkage versus 4Q20 but worldwide unit shipments remained above 30 million for the second consecutive quarter. “The shift to 10-Gbps PON technologies is happening quickly and on a global basis,” commented Jeff Heynen, vice president, broadband access and home networking at Dell’Oro Group. “The only thing preventing further expansions are supply chain constraints and increased costs.”
Cable access concentrator revenue also showed a healthy 15% year-to-year increase in the quarter, to $243 million. New hardware purchases in the form of CCAP chassis, line cards, and Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) nodes and modules offset a decline in DOCSIS license purchases to push revenues into the black.
The overall good news did not extend to the DSL market, which saw DSL access concentrator sales recede 30% year-over-year. Port shipments worldwide continue to decline as more operators switch to fiber, according to the report.
Dell’Oro’s Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides an overview of the broadband access market with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments for cable, DSL, and PON equipment. Covered equipment includes Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAP) and DAA; digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) by technology, including ADSL/ADSL2+, G.SHDSL, VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b, and G.fast; PON optical line terminals (OLTs); cable, DSL, and PON CPE; and SOHO WLAN equipment.
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[Editor's Note: This article has been amended to correct an error in the original. PON OLT sales grew more than 500% year-over-year, not 400% as originally reported. We regret the error.]