According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, total global revenue for the broadband access equipment market decreased to $4.1 billion in 3Q 2023, down 14 percent year-over-year (Y/Y). The lone bright spot this quarter was spending on fixed wireless CPE, as North American operators continued to expand their 5G sub-6 GHz subscriber bases.

“The inventory alignment that began in North America has now migrated to Europe and Latin America, as both regions saw significant Y/Y declines in equipment spend,” said Jeff Heynen, vice president with Dell’Oro Group. “Meanwhile, Chinese operators are once again accelerating their purchases of PON ONTs to support growing Fiber-to-the-room deployments.”

Additional highlights from the 3Q 2023 Broadband Access and Home Networking quarterly report:

• Total fixed wireless CPE unit shipments were up 1 percent from last quarter, buoyed by indoor 5G sub-6 GHz units, which reached just below 1.3 million units for only the second time on record.
• Total cable access concentrator revenue was down 18 percent Y/Y at $197 million. Remote PHY devices and Virtual CMTS platforms both saw slowdowns this quarter, as cable operators pulled from their existing inventories. Meanwhile, Remote OLT revenue was up Y/Y, but down from last quarter.