According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, total global revenue for the broadband access equipment market decreased to $17.5 billion in 2023, down 9 percent year-over-year (Y/Y). Spending on cable equipment dropped 3 percent overall, though spending on remote PHY devices jumped 21 percent, following a 99 percent Y/Y increase in 2022.

“Cable operators continue to modernize their networks through the deployment of distributed access architectures,” said Jeff Heynen, vice president with Dell’Oro Group. “Though macroeconomic and supply chain issues continue to cloud the short-term horizon, there is no question that the goals of delivering more bandwidth and pushing edge processing and automation closer to subscribers are driving cable operator spending,” explained Heynen.

Additional highlights from the 4Q 2023 Broadband Access and Home Networking quarterly report:

  • Total PON equipment spending was down 7 percent from 2022, driven by a 10 percent decline in spending on PON optical line terminals (OLTs)
  • Spending on fixed wireless customer premises equipment (CPE) increased 7 percent in 2023, driven once again by 5G Sub-6 GHz unit shipments in North America
  • Total Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 router and broadband CPE unit shipments reached 10 million in 2023, with a significant ramp expected for Wi-Fi 7 units in 2024.

 Dell’Oro Group Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides a complete 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 and distributed access architectures; digital subscriber line access multiplexers ([DSLAMs] by technology VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b and G.FAST); PON OLTs, Cable, DSL and PON CPE; fixed wireless access CPE; and residential WLAN equipment, including mesh routers.