Cable broadband market sees massive growth in CMTS ports; Cisco nears all-time market share high

CAMPBELL, USA: Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its fourth quarter (4Q11) CMTS and Edge QAM Hardware and Subscribers market share and forecast report, which tracks cable broadband equipment and subscribers.

“The cable broadband market ended 2011 on a high note, both for the quarter and the year and both for revenue and port shipments. Even though Verizon and AT&T have slowed their fixed broadband network rollouts, North American MSOs are continuing theirs, resulting in 94 percent total CMTS port growth in the region in 2011. In fact, every region saw port growth in 2011, as cable operators worldwide continue their DOCSIS 3.0 transformations,” notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research.

CMTS and EDGE QAM market highlights
* Combined CMTS and edge QAM revenue grew 5 percent in the final quarter of 2011, ending the year on a high note, up 17 percent from the year-ago quarter.

* For the full year, CMTS and edge QAM manufacturer revenue is up 6 percent to $1.7 billion.

* Global CMTS port shipments hit record levels in 4Q11 and are up an astounding 48 percent for the full year.

* CMTS revenue is not keeping pace with port shipments because revenue per downstream continues to drop (down 31 percent in 2011), as more high-density downstream-only cards are introduced and as the market continues to shift towards license-based upgrades in regions outside North America.

* Cisco is the only of the four CMTS equipment leaders that gained CMTS revenue market share in 2011, growing from 51 percent to 59 percent of the global market, just one point shy of its all-time high.