Home network growth will be somewhat slower over the next few years, but will remain solid, along with a bright home networking equipment outlook, the high-tech market research firm says.
"By the time worldwide broadband subscribers exceed 500 million in a few years, there will be a very significant installed base of equipment that presents opportunities for replacements and upgrades," said Joyce Putscher, In-Stat analyst. "Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n, VoIP, and TR-69 are all drivers for customer premises equipment (CPE) upgrades and replacements."
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- Worldwide CPE unit shipments grew almost 20 percent in 2006 to 127 million.
- By 2011, annual CPE revenue will be dominated by gateways, with gateways garnering over half of the worldwide revenue.
- By 2011, we expect routers to still be comprised of a higher percentage of wireless units than DSL gateways. Asia/Pacific's share of routers will continue to increase through 2011. This region's router market is increasingly being driven by China, due to that region's annual rise in the number of home networks.
- Worldwide home LAN PHY interface shipments will surpass 500 million in 2010.
