Today’s roundup of industry news: After years of growth, the global fixed broadband equipment market is in decline, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group. Dish is withholding payments to analytics and security software supplier Allot. China Mobile’s CEO resigns. And much more!
According to Jeff Heinen, vice president of broadband access and home networking at Dell’Oro Group, challenges plaguing the broadband network equipment market will continue into 2024, with the trend of declining spending seen in 2023 continuing. The root cause is inventory correction (also known as stock realignment), which is expected to cause a 10% decline in spending on broadband equipment in 2023. Heinen noted that early projections for 2024 call for another 5% decline year-over-year, “where the delayed impact of interest rate hikes to combat inflation will be felt more acutely.” The decline in 2024 will bring total spending to about $16.5 billion, roughly equivalent to 2021 spending levels. Dell’Oro predicted several big trends for 2024:These include new ways for cable operators to compete with fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber optics, such as Comcast’s new service tier offering 2Gbit/s speeds. Additional fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments, both greenfield and overbuild, are also expected around the world this year. Heynen highlighted XGS-PON as the biggest technology beneficiary that will dominate fiber optics spending in 2024. The technology has already surpassed the 2022 revenue levels of 2.5Gbit/s GPON (gigabit passive optical network) and is expected to more than double in 2024. In the passive optical network (PON) market, Tier 1 operators are expected to lower their targets for the number of homes they will pass in 2024, but a new construction phase is expected to begin in 2025, which is expected to drive the overall PON market through the decade. No slowdown is expected in 2024, as tier 2 and tier 3 operators in North America and Europe plan to upgrade and expand their fiber networks during this period. Finally, Dell’Oro believes that Wi-Fi 7 advances will accelerate. The analyst house’s latest forecast, from July 2023, suggests that more than 2.5 million residential Wi-Fi routers and broadband gateways will be shipped in 2024. However, Heynen said the company will increase its forecast based on the start of certification testing for Wi-Fi 7 products. After an overall decline in broadband spending in 2024, the research house predicts a recovery to growth in 2025 as the US Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and other subsidy efforts “start to trickle down to broadband equipment suppliers.” Read more here.
Analytics and security systems vendor Allot is at odds with one of its prominent carrier customers, US 5G newcomer Dish Network: the open RAN-based mobile network operator, which selected Allot for its Network Intelligence and Security as a Service (SECaaS) solutions in 2021, is withholding payments to the supplier. According to Allot, “Allot has received notice from Dish alleging that the software provided by Allot does not meet certain specifications as required by the contract. Dish is requesting that Allot remedy this default and provide compliant software and related support services. Allot believes that Dish’s allegations that it is currently delinquent on certain payments to Allot are without merit and that Dish’s demands are without merit, as Allot believes it has timely provided compliant software and related support services to Dish. Importantly, the software and related support services were formally accepted in writing by Dish as required by the contract. Allot will vigorously pursue its right to full payment of all amounts due under the contract.” The vendor said it will report an “increase in the allowance for credit losses of approximately $9 million” in its 2023 financial statements as a result of the dispute with Dish. Read more.
China Mobile, the world’s largest telecommunications company by subscribers, with about 991 million mobile connections and 298 million fixed broadband connections, is searching for a new CEO after Dong Xin resigned with immediate effect on Jan. 11. A short statement issued by the company to the stock market said Dong did not resign due to differences with the board and that “there are no issues to be notified to the company’s shareholders regarding his resignation.” Dong had been CEO since early 2017.
In the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite arena, major (mainly U.S. and European) organizations have already launched large constellations, including SpaceX/Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, Lynk Global, Project Kuiper, and AST SpaceMobile, but China is determined not to be left behind in the race to broadband from space. According to Nikkei Asia (subscription required), state-run China Satellite Network Group plans to put 13,000 LEO satellites into orbit over the next decade or so to eventually support 6G services, a space company partly owned by the Shanghai municipal government plans to launch 12,000 LEO “birds,” and private company GalaxySpace (Beijing) Technology is planning a constellation of 1,000 LEO satellites. However, Western LEO players are well ahead in this field. As we reported on Thursday, SpaceX this week used its Starlink satellite constellation to send and receive the first text message over T-Mobile US network spectrum, using one of the direct cell satellites the company launched six days ago. The satellite communications sector has seen a resurgence in the past few years. To stay up to date on major developments, check out our “Most Popular Satellite Connectivity Stories of 2023.”
NTT Docomo is considering using electric vehicles (EVs) to power base stations during power outages caused by disasters. In a demonstration experiment that will run from today until June 30, the company will work with car leasing company Nippon Car Solutions (NCS) to test a base station power recovery system using EVs, which are expected to become more widely used as company cars. The system will use NTT Docomo’s energy management platform to monitor and control base station power, as well as the company’s AI-based vehicle dispatch plan created using deep reinforcement learning and real-time data from EVs collected by NCS, such as their location and stored power. “The aim is to efficiently dispatch optimally located and charged EVs to base stations that have lost power,” the company explained in a statement announcing the move. Currently, during power outages, base stations use backup batteries for a limited time to provide communication services, and rely on generators if the power outage is prolonged. NTT noted that the experiment is part of EV100, a global initiative to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, of which the company is a member.
Video streaming giant Netflix has reportedly surpassed 23 million monthly active users on its ad-supported plan. According to multiple media reports, the company’s president of advertising Amy Reinhard announced the figure, adding that expanding the platform’s business is its biggest priority at the moment. The ad-supported plan has grown its user base by 8 million in about two months since it reported reaching 15 million monthly active users in November 2023. The ad-supported plan, called “Basic with Adverts,” is cheaper than Netflix’s other ad-free plans and was introduced in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US in November 2022. Netflix reported improved financial results for the third quarter of 2023 after a continued decline in the previous quarter, claiming that its global subscriber base increased by 8.76 million to a total of 247.15 million.
After successful prototype tests conducted with “12 companies” from industries such as construction, real estate and postal services, Deutsche Telekom (DT) is preparing to commercially launch its “Mobile Base Station” solution in the first months of 2024. The German operator will debut the solution at its Digital X event in September 2023, where it claimed to use “smaller, lighter and more flexible” mobile transmission towers that support 5G and LTE. DT added that the solution is a temporary mobile solution, ideal for company premises, large construction sites and events, and is so compact that it can be fully set up by one person in less than an hour. According to Klaus Werner, Managing Director Business Customers at Telekom Deutschland, the “high demand” from companies shows the need for flexible mobile communication solutions. For more information, see the DT statement, available in German here.
– Telecom TV Staff
