Infonetics Research released excerpts from its 1st quarter 2014 (1Q14) Microwave Equipment report, which tracks time-division multiplexing (TDM), Ethernet, and dual Ethernet/TDM microwave equipment.

MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:
.    Microwave equipment revenue totaled $1 billion worldwide in 1Q14, down 17% sequentially, and down 7% from the year-ago quarter
.    Revenue for every microwave product segment-TDM, dual Ethernet/TDM, Ethernet, access, backhaul, transport-declined in 1Q14 from 4Q13
.    Backhaul continues to dominate the microwave market, while access and transport remain stable niche segments
.    Ericsson held steady atop the microwave equipment revenue share leaderboard in 1Q14, while NEC leapfrogged Huawei to claim the #2 spot
.    By 2018, the average revenue per unit (ARPU) for Ethernet-only microwave gear is anticipated to fall to around half its 2013 value

MICROWAVE REPORT SYNOPSIS:
Infonetics’ quarterly microwave equipment report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts through 2018, analysis, and trends for Ethernet, TDM, and hybrid microwave equipment by spectrum, capacity, form factor, architecture, and line of sight. Vendors tracked: Alcatel-Lucent, Aviat Networks, Ceragon, DragonWave, Ericsson, Exalt, Huawei, Intracom, NEC, SIAE, ZTE, and others.

ANALYST NOTE:

 “The proliferation of LTE-A upgrades and small cells deployments was not enough to stop the microwave equipment market from sliding downward in the first quarter of 2014, a casualty of continuing pricing pressures and inter-technology competition with wireline backhaul alternatives, particularly fiber-based solutions,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile backhaul and small cells at Infonetics Research. “The seasonal decline was much more severe than usual, suggesting a deeper malaise in the market.”

Webb adds: “Even with the arrival of 5G towards 2018, the microwave backhaul market may be arriving at the limit of demand for increasing backhaul capacity from the cell site, as many will be more than adequately future-proofed by this point.”

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

RELATED REPORT EXCERPTS:
.    China’s huge LTE rollouts and EU network upgrades push carrier capex to $354B this year
.    China Mobile increases capital intensity 6% year-over-year
.    Carriers going gangbusters with WiFi and Hotspot 2.0
.    Small cell market on track to increase 65% this year
.    Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and Cisco get top marks from operators in mobile backhaul survey

According to  Dell’Oro Group, the point-to-point Microwave Transmission equipment market declined 10 percent during the trailing four quarter period ending in the first quarter of 2014.

“Demand for microwave transmission equipment has been under pressure for quite some time with little relief in the first quarter of 2014,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President of Microwave Transmission research at Dell’Oro Group. “We think things will improve as we enter the second half of the year, but this is largely dependent on improving conditions in two of the primary microwave market regions, Europe and India. On a brighter note, packet microwave sales achieved another quarter of positive growth. We estimate that for the trailing four quarter period ending in 1Q14, packet microwave revenue grew 13 percent year-over-year,” Yu added.

In-line with market demand, nearly all major microwave vendors experienced a year-over-year revenue decline. Among the top vendors, Alcatel-Lucent’s microwave revenues faired the best, growing slightly above zero percent due to their strong market position in the Packet Microwave segment.