According to Ovum, with a revenue share of 28 per cent, Huawei has emerged as the leading player in the wireline broadband access equipment market in the third quarter of 2013. Alcatel Lucent and ZTE were placed second and third with a revenue share of 18 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
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The global wireline broadband access equipment market witnessed a decline of 22 per cent in the third quarter of 2013 in comparison to the corresponding quarter in 2012. Worldwide shipment of passive optical network-optical line terminal (PON OLT) ports and very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) witnessed encouraging growth. PON shipments continue to grow in China, Japan, Korea and other countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America. While these countries support small-scale deployment of PON-based networks, going forward, China?s ambitious plans to extend broadband reach across the country could boost future PON shipments.
Ovum points out that currently, 10G EPON deployments are at an early stage in Asia-Pacific and North America. In October 2013, Alcatel-Lucent won a large-scale 10G EPON deployment contract from US-based cable operator Bright House Networks. VDSL/VDSL2 shipments remain strong, boosting total DSL revenues for the vendors. Over the next few years, VDSL/VDSL2 shipments are likely to witness growth as vectoring deployment plans will increase copper?s bandwidth capabilities.
The research firm emphasises that the use of PON for non-fibre-to-the-home deployment is growing within mobile backhaul and optical local area network (enterprise) applications. Another emerging trend is growing interest in boosting copper speeds through VDSL2 vectoring. Fibre-based networks are witnessing growth but their success is still dependent upon monetisation of these networks and regulatory policies.
