Report: Fiber broadband spending above fray of supply chain unrest

According to new research by Dell’Oro Group, global sales of broadband access equipment increased 14% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022, to reach $4.4 billion.

The market research firm points out in its new 1Q 2022 Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report that overall growth in the broadband access equipment segment came in spite of ongoing supply chain constraints, with fiber and fixed wireless gear technology leading the way.

Significantly, the analyst found that PON optical line terminal (OLT) revenues climbed 42% versus the year-ago quarter.

The new report emphasizes that cable MSOs are continuing to spend to keep up with competitors -- not only with regard to fiber to the home (FTTH) technology outlays, but also on HFC infrastructure.

Specifically, Dell’Oro reports that cable access concentrator revenue grew 5% versus 1Q21 to just over $257 million. According to Dell'Oro Group, purchases of Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) technology helped make up for declines in traditional CCAP licenses.

Meanwhile, in a measurement of the the technology's popularity, Dell'Oro found that fixed wireless CPE unit shipments hit 3.8 million units in the first three months of this year. The new report states that sales of 5G sub-6-GHz units displayed the most growth.

Dell’Oro’s Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides an overview of the broadband access market with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments for cable, DSL, and PON equipment.

Covered equipment includes Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAP) and Distributed Access Architectures (DAA); DSLAMs by technology (ADSL/ADSL2+, G.SHDSL, VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b, and G.fast); PON OLTs; cable, DSL, and PON CPE; and SOHO WLAN equipment, including mesh routers.

“Despite all the challenges with supply chains, logistics, and labor, service providers continue to invest heavily to expand their fiber broadband networks, particularly in North America,” reckons Jeff Heynen, vice president, broadband access and home networking at Dell’Oro, who adds, “Many of these deployments are to deliver multi-gig services, as operators look to stay one step ahead of their competitors.”

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