The North American broadband service provider spending on broadband access equipment dropped to what Dell’Oro Group said is “the lowest levels in nearly two years.”
The research firm revealed that total global revenue for the broadband access equipment market decreased to $4.7 billion in the second quarter of 2023, down 3 percent year-over-year (Y/Y). Outside of North America, spending on PON equipment and fixed wireless CPE continued to remain strong this quarter, though not enough to offset declines in both Cable and DSL CPE purchases.
“North American service providers are clearly seeing the impact of slowing subscriber growth by reducing their purchases of new DOCSIS, PON, and even Fixed Wireless CPE,” said Jeff Heynen, VP with Dell’Oro Group.
He added, “Infrastructure purchases in the region are more mixed, with Cable Access Concentrator spending up sharply and PON OLT purchases only slightly down.”
The decline in broadband access spending was also seen in the customer premises equipment (CPE) segment.
Dell’Oro said that a combination of seasonal slowness and reduced broadband subscriber growth dragged down new unit purchases in the quarter was the reason that total residential Wireless LAN units were down 6 percent Y/Y. However, the research firm noted that the third quarter typically sees a return to growth in both unit shipments and revenue.
Total cable access concentrator revenue was up 15% Y/Y at $270 million. Remote PHY devices, Remote OLTs, and Virtual CMTS platforms recorded significant revenue gains for the quarter as cable operators continue expanding their DAA and fiber initiatives.
