For the first time ever, Huawei surpassed Alcatel Lucent in DSL revenue and ports shipped, according to first quarter numbers released by Infonetics Research this week.
The research firm said Huawei's DSL shipments were buoyed by domestic Chinese operators focused on rolling out premium broadband services, and by growth in emerging markets.
The macroeconomic slowdown impacted broadband aggregation DSL port shipments (from DSLAMs, NGDLCs, and MSAPs) this quarter, down 7 percent sequentially, as operators chose to sweat their existing DSL infrastructure assets and postpone or even cancel planned upgrades, Infonetics reported.
In addition, most developed world countries are at or near the saturation point for DSL subscribers, so what growth there will be is expected to come from emerging markets, primarily the Middle East, Central and Latin America, Russia, and Eastern Europe
The research firm projects VDSL port shipments to grow steadily over at least the next few years, as operators deliver higher-margin premium broadband services to subscribers to support IPTV, VoIP, and online video services.
Rural operators, Infonetics said, are planning to deploy broadband aggregation equipment in the first quarter were forced to postpone their purchases until the rules and definitions of the $7.2 billion US Broadband Stimulus Package were clarified.
