Bad news for cable-gear vendors: Revenue for broadband cable consumer devices
slipped 12% in the first quarter worldwide, according to a new statistical
roundup from Infonetics Research.
The research firm found that cable consumer-gear revenue totaled $250 million
in the first quarter.
While rival digital-subscriber-line access-gear revenue also dropped for the
quarter, Infonetics did find resurgence in the DSL-access-multiplexer (DSLAM)
market, which shot up 21% to $613 million during the first quarter.
Buying more DSLAMs -- the network-controller units for DSL modems -- may be
an indication that telcos are putting more money behind DSL-plant upgrades.
"While spending in optical and other areas declined, carriers are buying
DSLAM equipment, with the strongest showings in Asia and Europe this quarter,"
Infonetics cofounder and principal analyst Michael Howard said in a release.
"On the other hand, MSOs spent less this quarter on CMTS
[cable-modem-termination-system] gear, with a disappointing 35% drop in
worldwide revenues from fourth-quarter 2002 to first-quarter 2003, matching the
lowest quarterly revenues of 2002 (after a huge fourth-quarter 2002)," he
added.
Among CMTS vendors, Cisco Systems Inc. maintained its lead, followed by Arris
and ADC Telecommunications Inc.
On the modem side, Motorola Inc. sits at the top, claiming a 37% market share
worldwide, according to the report.
