News

A recently released Dell’Oro Group report has revealed a fundamental shift in the North American broadband market.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Spending by providers in the North American broadband market decreased 25 percent year over year in Q1 2024.

The finding was a key takeaway from a recent quarterly report released by Dell’Oro Group, a market research firm.

Dell’Oro Group’s report summary blamed factors like “continued subscriber churn,” an excess of inventory, and exceedingly high labor costs.

According to experts like Jeff Heynen, a vice president at Dell’Oro Group, pressures in the North American broadband market have led to decreased spending on access equipment.

“The North American broadband market is in the midst of a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape,” Heynen said in the report summary. “Which is having a significant impact on broadband equipment purchases.”

According to Heynen, “cable operators are trying to navigate mounting, but predictable, broadband subscriber losses.”

Heynen said ISPs are also investing in their networks, in an attempt to keep pace with encroachment by fiber and fixed wireless providers.

Dell’Oro Group research also found revenues for the broadband access equipment market in global decline, with revenues down 12 percent year over year.

Additional highlights from the report included increased spending on fixed wireless equipment.

Spending in that sector increased 29 percent in Q1, driven by growth in 5G Sub-6 Ghz unit shipments.

Both Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers also showed “significant year over year increases,” the report summary stated.

Meanwhile, passive optical network (PON) equipment spending was down 9 percent from Q1 2023, according to Dell’Oro Group’s research.

The biggest spending declines were reported in DOCSIS infrastructure, which fell 24 percent year over year in Q1.

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