According to Infonetics Research, Cisco led the router and switch revenue market in 2013 followed by Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent and Juniper Networks.
Together, the four players accounted for 83 per cent of the revenue share of the global carrier router and switch market. Further, in 2013, service provider router and switch revenue including IP edge and core routers and carrier Ethernet switches increased by two per cent to reach $14.5 billion. However, in the fourth quarter of 2013, the carrier router-switch revenue declined by four per cent over the corresponding period in 2012.
The research firm states that the operators are adopting a cautious approach regarding their spending on routers and switches as the industry is in the nascent stage of adopting software-defined networking (SDN). At the same time, operators are focusing on strengthening multiple content delivery networks and moving towards smart traffic management.
Going forward, Infonetics Research forecasts worldwide service provider router and switch revenue to grow at a low single-digit compound annual growth rate from 2013 to 2018 to reach $17.2 billion.
