'Global telecom equipment market grows 2% only in 1st half of 2023'

NEW DELHI: The global telecom equipment market held steady in the first half of 2023 (1H23), growing only 2 per cent, a new report has shown.

According to the market research firm Dell’Oro Group, the worldwide telecom equipment revenues, excluding North America, increased by 7 per cent in the first half, supporting the thesis that the telecom equipment market remains robust outside of the US.

Stable performance in EMEA, CALA, and China, combined with robust growth in the Asia Pacific region outside of China.

"These results mostly align with expectations on an aggregate level, although performance by region and technology varied. After five years of expansion, during which the North American region advanced by around 50 per cent, the pendulum swung toward the negative in the first half. The decline in North America was anticipated, but the pace of the contraction was slightly faster than expected," said Research Analyst Stefan Pongratz.

According to the report, wireline outperformed wireless. The analysis indicated that the collective results for the wireline-focused programmes increased by around 7 per cent in the first six months.

Moreover, vendor dynamics remained mostly stable between 2022 and the first half of 2023, with a few exceptions.

Telecom firm Ciena surpassed Samsung, and the gap between Nokia and Ericsson widened, reflecting, to some extent, the technology mix between wireless and wireline.

Despite ongoing efforts by the US government to limit Huawei's addressable market and access to cutting-edge silicon, the report said that Huawei continues to lead the global telecom equipment market.

"This is partly because Huawei remains the #1 supplier in five out of the six telecom segments we track, and the vendor continues to dominate the market outside of North America, accounting for 35 per cent to 40 per cent of 1H23 revenues," Pongratz said.