CPE boosted by broadband

The customer premises equipment (CPE) market has seen growth because of the increasing up take of broadband, according to research.

Analyst firm In-Stat has found that sales of CPE, which consists of items like routers and residential gateway equipment, will continue to be positive until the year 2012 as broadband continues to see growth.

Worldwide CPE unit shipments grew 15 per cent last year to reach 149 million, according to figures from the company.

"With worldwide broadband subscribers predicted to exceed 500 million in 2010, there will be a very significant installed base of equipment that presents opportunities for replacements and upgrades," explained one of In-Stat's analysts, Joyce Putscher.

"Gigabit Ethernet, VoIP, the DSL Forum's TR-69, and 802.11n are examples of drivers for CPE upgrades and replacements over the next several years."

However, she sounded one note of caution: "We see a potential issue in terms of consumers' lack of knowledge regarding the benefits and differences between 802.11g and 802.11n, which could spell trouble for 802.11n upgrades."

It was also predicted that, by 2010, gateways will take up a majority share of overall CPE revenue.