Dell’Oro Group reports that Q3 2016 was the third consecutive quarter of strong double-digit year-over-year growth for cable infrastructure equipment, namely cable modem termination systems (CMTSs). The research firm notes that while 2016 has been a good year for infrastructure investments, it predicts 2017 will be solid for customer premises equipment (CPE). Arris and Technicolor dominate the cable CPE market, according to Dell’Oro.
“The cable CMTS market grew 22 percent year-over-year in the third quarter,” Alam Tamboli, senior analyst at Dell’Oro Group, observes. “The market is dominated by Arris and Cisco with Cisco’s strength in the quarter driving the market.
Tamboli points out that cable operators are betting that gigabit speeds will help them penetrate the small enterprise market in particular, and also better compete with other telecommunications providers in general. “In 2017, we expect that DOCSIS 3.1 infrastructure will be more ubiquitous and pervasive throughout cable operators’ networks. Spending on cable CPE devices will increase dramatically as cable operators focus on delivering much faster speeds to customers to better compete with telecom operators deploying PON and G.fast technologies.”
Both Comcast and Charter executives recently reiterated their commitment to DOCSIS 3.1, after Altice USA’s announcement of a full-scale fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) strategy.
