Market research firm Infonetics Research released vendor market share and preliminary analysis from its 4th quarter 2012 (4Q12) PON, FTTH, and DSL Aggregation Equipment and Subscribers report. (Full report will be published March 4th).

BROADBAND AGGREGATION MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:

.    Global sales of broadband aggregation equipment (DSL, PON, Ethernet FTTH) fell 6% in 4Q12, to $1.56 billion, as a result of declines in spending on DSL equipment in EMEA and EPON gear in Asia

.     For the full year 2012, worldwide spending on broadband aggregation equipment was down 10% to
$6.65 billion, with DSL equipment taking the largest hit, plunging 26%!

.    Meanwhile, the 2.5G GPON equipment segment is up 30% in 2012, led by China, where a dramatic swing in technology choice by China Telecom and China Unicom is shifting investment from EPON to GPON for FTTH deployments
.    VDSL port shipments grew by almost a quarter in 2012, reaching 23 million worldwide, as Belgacom, KPN, British Telecom, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Turk Telecom, and Telekom Austria deploy VDSL2 to keep pace with cable DOCSIS 3.0 rollouts
.    In 2012 in the overall broadband aggregation market, perennial leader Huawei lost some revenue share to its top competitors, and Alcatel-Lucent pulled ahead of ZTE for 2nd place

.    The top 3 overall vendors also lead the growing 2.5G GPON equipment market, with Dasan Networks rounding out the #4 spot

ANALYST NOTE:
2012 was a challenging year for fixed broadband equipment, with DSL taking the biggest hit as China continues its transition to FTTH,” notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. “But despite the difficult road for DSL, VDSL remains a real bright spot, expanding among operators in Western Europe, North America and Latin America. Vectoring solutions and a long-term path to G.Fast are driving sustained interest in VDSL2.”

Heynen adds: “Meanwhile, GPON equipment had an outstanding year, with China again contributing the most revenue and EMEA and Latin America providing pockets of strength.”

REPORT SYNOPSIS: 
Infonetics’ quarterly broadband aggregation report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share,
forecasts, analysis, and trends for 1.25G, 2.5G, and 10G EPON, 2.5G and 10G GPON, FTTH, FTTB, PON, and DSL aggregation equipment. The report also tracks FTTH, FTTB+LAN, and DSL subscribers. Companies tracked include ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, Calix, Dasan, ECI Telecom, Fiberhome, Fujitsu, Genexis, Hitachi, Huawei, Iskratel, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, OF Networks, PacketFront, Sumitomo, Tellabs, Ubiquoss, Zhone, ZTE, ZyXEL, and others.

To buy the report, contact Infonetics: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2013/4Q12-PON-FTTH-and-DSL-Aggregation-Market-Highlights.asp

Infonetics is very positive about the cable broadband market in 2013 after a difficult 2012.  “Though 2012 was a down year for cable broadband, the stage is set for a strong 2013,” notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. “Cable operators worldwide have a number of bandwidth-hungry applications on tap that will drive CMTS and edge QAM channel growth throughout the year, including DOCSIS 3.0, multiscreen services via the deployment of new video gateways, and carrier WiFi services. We’re expecting CMTS and edge QAM revenue to grow more than 20% in 2013,” he wrote.

CMTS AND EDGE QAM MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:
.    For the full year 2012, CMTS (cable modem termination system) and edge QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) equipment revenue decreased 15%, to $1.39 billion
.    Declining ASPs and channel shipments edged the global CMTS and edge QAM market down for the 3rd consecutive quarter in 4Q12, as revenue fell 1% sequentially, to $284 million
.    North America bucked the global trend, notching a 7% increase in CMTS and edge QAM revenue in 4Q12 from 3Q12
.    Cisco held onto its perennial #1 CMTS revenue market share position in 4Q12, though #2 ARRIS, the leader in channel shipments, grew its share by 6 percentage points
.    In the edge QAM segment, Cisco edged out Harmonic to claim the top spot for the 1st time ever in 4Q12; even so, Harmonic closed out 2012 as the edge QAM leader

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2013/4Q12-CMTS-and-Edge-QAM-Market-Highlights.asp

A related article on Infonetics Service Provider Router/Switch Market is at:

http://viodi.com/2013/02/23/infonetics-optimism-on-service-provider-routerswitch-market-contrasts-with-ciscos-cautious-outlook/

Infonetics views on mobile infrastructure are at:

http://viodi.com/2012/12/05/infonetics-mobile-infrastructure-market-down-in-quarter-small-cells-not-so-hot/