The global telecom service provider equipment market will grow by a modest 1% this year, according to a telecom equipment forecast from the Dell’Oro Group, reflecting industry shifts. The 1% growth rate is lower than the 3% growth seen in 2022 and 8% growth seen in 2021.
North America, along with the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA), had strong growth, however. The overall increase was dragged down by “more challenging conditions” in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC).
Reasons for the lower growth in 2022 included the removal of Russia as a supplier, the strength of the U.S. dollar and supply chain issues. The latter had more impact during the first half of the year than the second.
Telecom Equipment Forecast
Dell’Oro also looked at the market from a technology perspective. There is a shift between wired and wireless and “multiple indicators” said that broadband access revenues surged. Those gains were more or less offset by stable or low-single digital growth across other five market segments that the research firm studies, however. Those other categories include microwave transport, mobile core network, optical transport, radio access network and service provider routers and switches.
On the vendor front, stability reigned among the top six market segments between 2021 and last year. Despite Huawei’s problems with the U.S. government, it held the top spot in five of the six segments. Although the company lost ground outside of China, it remains one of the top three suppliers outside China, with about 18% of the market. The other companies in the top three are Nokia (with 20% of the market) Ericsson (with 18%).
Although growth for 2023 is projected to only be 1%, it would represent the sixth consecutive year of revenue growth, according to the service provider telecom equipment forecast.