Infonetics: Broadband aggregation market can’t beat 2012

First quarter 2013 (1Q13) spending on broadband aggregation equipment was up in North America, but down elsewhere, according to the latest report from Infonetics Research.

Overall, spending on DSL, PON, and FTTH equipment decreased 7% in 1Q13 from 4Q12, to $1.5 billion worldwide, the market research firm said.

“The broadband aggregation equipment market is off to a difficult start this year, with overall revenue down both sequentially and from the year-ago first quarter, though there is significant disparity in results between regions and technologies,” observed Jeff Heynen, who was promoted this week to principal analyst, broadband access and pay TV, at Infonetics.

The Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region was hit hardest, with spending on DSL, PON, and FTTH equipment down 27% from the previous quarter, putting an end to three consecutive quarters of growth, Heynen says. China saw a big drop in EPON spending, but an eighth consecutive quarter of growth for GPON as China Telecom and China Unicom continue their GPON-based FTTH deployments (see, for example, “Alcatel-Lucent to expand broadband FTTH network for China Telecom”).

Meanwhile, North America bucked the trend and avoided its typical first-quarter softness as operators increased spending to fight the aggressive DOCSIS 3.0 initiatives by cable operators, the analyst pointed out.

PON equipment revenue in EMEA dropped 50% in 1Q13, following two quarters of double-digit increases, due to seasonality and the conclusion of initial GPON purchases by Russian and Middle Eastern operators

Despite a 5% decline in worldwide GPON revenue and a 4% decrease in EPON equipment revenue, Huawei maintained its worldwide revenue lead in the overall broadband aggregation equipment market, with 33% market share. Alcatel-Lucent maintained second place in the overall broadband aggregation market, followed by ZTE, which is having a tough few quarters as it gouges prices to win a piece of China Telecom’s FTTX business.

Infonetics’ quarterly broadband aggregation report “1st quarter 2013 (1Q13) PON, FTTH, and DSL Aggregation Equipment and Subscribers” provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts through 2017, and analysis for EPON, GPON, FTTH, FTTB, PON, and DSL aggregation equipment and subscribers.

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