Surge in VDSL port shipments shows providers preparing for IPTV, VoD onslaught

After an 8% hike in revenue in the fourth quarter, worldwide DSL aggregation hardware slowed in the first quarter of 2006, dipping 5% to $1.6 billion, according to Infonetics Research's latest DSL Aggregation Hardware report.

The dip in revenue reflects cheaper port prices, not a slowdown in the market, as evidenced by the 38% jump in DSL ports from 2004 to 2005. By 2009, worldwide DSL aggregation hardware DSL port shipments are expected to soar to 460 million.

"The broadband boom is in full force, and we're at the stage now where DSL aggregation hardware revenue is pretty flat because ports are getting so cheap, but we'll see a nice ramp up in revenue in 2007 that will continue to climb rapidly at least through 2009," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst at Infonetics Research. "The first quarter of 2006 saw a huge jump in VDSL port shipments, indicating an increase in fiber to the curb and fiber to the node deployments, a sign that DSL providers are focusing on getting higher bandwidth to their subscribers to meet their growing demand for IP video and IPTV."

Market Highlights

--  Worldwide DSL aggregation hardware DSL port shipments increased 2%
    between 4Q05 and 1Q06
--  VDSL ports on IP DSLAMs were up 34% in 1Q06, VDSL ports on broadband
    loop carriers were up 60%
--  IP DSLAM revenue is forecast to grow an astonishing 318% between 2005
    and 2009
--  In 1Q06, Alcatel maintained its #1 position in worldwide DSL
    aggregation hardware revenue and port market share, followed by Huawei and
    Siemens; Ericsson jumps into the #4 spot after its acquisition of Marconi
--  Alcatel and Huawei also hold the #1 and #2 positions in the burgeoning
    IP DSLAM space in 1Q06

Infonetics' report tracks ATM DSLAMs, IP DSLAMs, next gen DLCs, and BLCs. Market share and forecasts are updated quarterly and cover worldwide, North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and CALA. The report provides analysis and rankings for ADTRAN, Alcatel, Calix, Ciena, Corecess, ECI, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Lucent, Marconi, Millinet, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Occam, Samsung, Siemens, Sumitomo, Tellabs, UTStarcom, Woojyun, Zhone, ZTE, and others.

Download sample data at www.info.infonetics.com . For sales, contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or 1 (408) 583-3335.

Infonetics Research ( www.infonetics.com ) is the premier international market research and consulting firm specializing in data networking and telecom. Services include quarterly market share and forecasting, end-user survey research, service provider survey research, and service provider capex analysis.

Press Contact: Jeff Heynen Directing Analyst, Broadband & IPTV Infonetics Research 1 408.583.3359 Email Contact