ABI Sees Strong CPE Growth

Despite the market share gain of fiber equipment over the past few years, CPE device shipments in other broadband platforms like DSL and cable are not likely to drop in the near future, a new report by ABI Research said. DSL operators are switching from ADSL to VDSL, and cable operators are moving to DOCSIS 3.0 standards. “Since these advanced technologies allow DSL and cable operators to compete with fiber optic broadband operators in terms of price and service quality, VDSL and DOCSIS 3.0 CPE device shipments have grown year-over-year,” says ABI analyst Khin Lynn. 

Worldwide broadband CPE device shipments totalled 144.9 million in 2012, with DOCSIS 3.0 CPE shipments a big standout at 37 million DOCSIS 3.0 devices shipped. That represents 67% of cable CPE shipments,  a 65% increase compared to 2011. Continuous growth in broadband adoption as well as upgrading to better quality services among existing broadband users will allow continuous growth in the broadband CPE market, the report said. ABI expects 149.4 million broadband CPE devices including modems, wired routers, and gateways to ship in 2013. About 83% of total cable CPE shipments this year are expected to be DOCSIS 3.0 devices.

Among the broadband CPE device manufacturers, ZTE and Huawei hold 14% and 8% of total device shipments in 2012 respectively. The two Chinese firms also are the top two vendors of FTTH CPE shipments, with 40% of 38% respectively of total fiber CPE shipments (30.7 million) in 2012.