DSL shipments up, prices down

Worldwide revenue from DSL customer premises equipment (CPE) fell 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2003 to the first quarter of 2004.

However, units shipped -- at falling prices -- grew 12 percent during the same period, according to a report on DSL aggregation.

Infonetics Research said Alcatel leads in DSL aggregation with Huawei as a distant second in the market. 'We saw great (asymmetric) DSL shipments in the previous quarter,' the market research firm's Michael Howard, principal analyst, said in a statement.

'The slightly down quarter is no surprise. Money is still being spent on ADSL: We project revenue to increase to US$1.41 billion in the first quarter of 2005. We still believe the DSL market has shifted into high gear.'

Infonetics said DSLAM (digital subscriber line access multiplexer) shipments now make up 70 percent of the DSL market with the IP DSLAM segment growing particularly rapidly. The firm said Huawei leads in worldwide IP DSLAM shipments with UTStarcom as a strong second.