Mobile gear market fall slows in Q3: Dell'Oro

BARCELONA, SPAIN: The mobile telecom equipment market continued to shrink in the third quarter, research firm Dell'Oro said on Friday, casting further doubt over industry forecasts of flat to slight growth on the market in 2010.

The wireless telecommunications gear market has contracted since last year as operators cut spending during the recession and aggressive Chinese vendors drive down prices.

Of top vendors, Nokia Siemens has forecast a flat market in 2010, including fixed-line sales, while Alcatel-Lucent has forecast 0-5 percent market growth.

The wireless gear market fell 5 percent from a year ago in the September quarter, compared with a 14 percent and a 17 percent contractions earlier this year, the researcher said.

Market leader Ericsson saw its share of the market rising slightly from the previous quarter to 33.7 percent, while Nokia Siemens Networks -- a joint venture of Nokia and Siemens  lost the No 2 position to China's Huawei .

Nokia Siemens's market share slipped to 19.8 percent, while Huawei was able to hold on to its 20.6 percent stake of the market, Dell'Oro said.