Global broadband CPE market hits $2.2 bn in 1Q13

BANGALORE, INDIA: Owing to the continued strong growth of FTTH and cable CPE, the global broadband CPE market hit $2.2 billion in 1Q13, an increase of six per cent sequentially and 17 per cent from the year-ago quarter, finds Infonetics Research.

Though the overall DSL CPE market is slowing on an annual basis, VDSL CPE continues to enjoy strong growth (+30 per cent YoY), particularly in North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), it adds.

"Better than expected sales of higher-end cable CPE, including headed and headless video gateways being sold in North America and Europe, helped the broadband CPE market put up another strong quarter," notes Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research.

"Operators across multiple verticals are in the middle of a long-term transition to higher-speed broadband technologies like FTTH, DOCSIS 3.0 and VDSL2 to keep up with subscriber demand for multiscreen video," Heynen adds.

Broadband CPE share leader Huawei pulled farther away from the pack in 1Q13, thanks to a 26 per cent spike in revenue coming mostly from China, Singapore and Malaysia, where it is the primary supplier of GPON ONTs and ADSL CPE.

Former #2 ZTE slipped to 4th place, leapfrogged by Technicolor and Arris. Pace' share of the broadband CPE market continues to grow, and Infonetics expects it to challenge for a place in the top three this year. Headless video gateways are forecast by Infonetics to grow at a 117 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2017.